Haunted Memories
by jewelzgirl
Summary: Harry's life changed drastically when Ginny dies. How will he cope with losing his wife?
1. Broken Promise

Disclaimer: I am not JKR, I do not own Harry Potter or his universe

I am also not a professional writer like JKR. I have dyslexia, and I struggle with writing. There will probably be mistakes since i have a hard time spotting them. Please enjoy the story and try to ignore any mistakes.

I hope you enjoy my story.

* * *

_Harry felt like the luckiest man alive. He watched as his wife-to-be walked down the petal-covered aisle to him. She wore an elegant white beaded ball gown. Being the only daughter of the Weasley's, the family had gone all out for their wedding. Harry could not take his eyes off of her. Her red hair was elegantly pulled up into a bun, and a delicate tiara graced her head. She was beautiful._

_He could not believe this was happening. There had been a point in his life when he had thought his dreams would never come true. But here was his angel walking toward him. She had been the one to help him pull his life together after the war, and now, they finally were getting married._

_He paid no attention to what was said during the ceremony. He could not take his eyes off of his beautiful bride. He was at least able to say his part, although he had to be poked in the back by his best man to be reminded that it was his turn to speak._

_Finally the time came for him to kiss his bride. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a warm deep kiss. He reluctantly let go, knowing there would be time for more of that later._

_He could not help but smile the whole night. He watched his wife glide around, greeting their guests. The party was huge. Everyone wanted to celebrate with the happy couple. As the party started to wind down, Harry and Ginny shared one more dance before they were to leave for their honeymoon._

_"I am the luckiest man alive." Harry whispered in her ear. She smiled up at him and gave him a peck on the lips._

_"I love you Harry. I promise I will always be with you." She gently laid her head on his shoulder and the two of them enjoyed this quiet moment together._

* * *

Harry stood by the tombstone and felt abandoned once again. It seemed to be his curse to be constantly left behind by those he loved. He stared at the smooth marble, barely able to read the name on it through his tear filled eyes. Although he knew that he had plenty of loved ones still around him, he felt completely alone without her. He did not hear any of the words said about his wife, he just stood there staring.

Finally people started to depart, and Harry started to look around. Most of his colleagues and those who had worked with Ginny left quickly. Their friends from Hogwarts hung back for a bit, some coming up and offering their condolences to him, others just nodding from afar giving him his space.

He saw the Weasley family huddled close to the matriarch of the family. After all, Molly had now buried two of her children, something no mother should ever have to do. She leaned on her frail husband, while the five remaining brothers stood around them to make sure they were alright. It had been hard on all of them to bury the youngest of their family.

Most of the grandchildren and their spouses stood with their mothers close by, except for his own three children, who of course now did not have a mother to take comfort from. He found Teddy amongst the large group. He stood protectively next to Victoire, who was far along in her third pregnancy. He finally spotted his three children huddled close together. He knew that he should be with them, comforting them, however at this moment he could not pull himself to do so.

He turned once again to the place where his wife was laid to rest. His eyes filled with tears again. What was he going to do without his angel?

"Daddy, Grandma said that we should be going to the dinner." Lily said gently to her father. He turned and looked at his eighteen year old daughter. She wore a simple black dress, not quiet weather appropriate for the late spring weather. Her dark auburn hair was pulled up in a ponytail, very much like her mother always wore her hair. Harry smiled weakly at his daughter and gave her a nod.

Right behind his daughter stood James and Albus, both watching their father with concern. James, who had grown to be taller than his father, had his arms wrapped around his young wife. The two of them had decided to marry sooner then they had planned in order to have Ginny there. Albus, who was the spitting image of his father, came up next to Lily. Harry noticed, that although he was wearing a very nice suit, he was still wearing his ragged trainers that he always wore.

"Are you coming dad? I don't think you should Apparate alone. You should come with one of us," his green eyes watching his father carefully.

"I will just be a minute kids." Harry turned back to the tombstone. He suddenly felt a pair of warm arms wrap around his shoulders. He looked up to find Hermione.

"I will make sure he makes it there safely." She quietly told the three grown kids. They nodded and slowly walked to where they would Apperate. Once they had left, Harry realized that they were the last two at the gravesite. He was reminded of a time when the two of them stood not far from here at another gravesite. Back then, he had been young and stupid, and yet she had stood by him anyways as he had mourned his parents. Now here they were nearly thirty years later, and she was still by his side, comforting him.

She did not push him to leave, but just stood quietly by him. Finally Harry stepped closer to the tombstone, conjured up a beautiful bouquet of flower and laid them on his wife's grave. Hermione gave a small smile, recognizing the assortment of flowers that Ginny had used for her wedding bouquet.

"Lets go before they send a search party out for me."


	2. Empty Rooms

Disclaimer: JKR owns the wonderful world of Harry Potter.

Please enjoy!

* * *

_"Close your eyes," Harry told his wife, "I have a surprise for you."_

_"Come on Harry! Is this really necessary? I really am not in the mood. The baby kicked all night, preventing me from sleeping, my back is killing me, and I think I have been to the bathroom every ten minutes." Ginny whined. She had been cleaning the kitchen when Harry had Flooed home. She was exhausted and just wanted to finish her cleaning so she could sit down. When she saw his excited face she reluctantly obliged to Harry's request. He grabbed her hand and Side-Along Apparated her to the front of a large house._

_"Alright, you can open them now." Harry could hardly hold his excitement and nervousness in. He had been planning this for months and finally it was time to reveal his surprise. She opened her eyes and looked at the house in front of her. It was a large two story stone house with a beautiful garden in front. She could tell it was an older home, but well kept up._

_"What is this?" She turned and looked at her husband._

_"Well, this is our new house," he said sheepishly. She continued to stare at him. It took a few seconds for it to sink in._

_"Our what!" She exclaimed. She was not sure if she had heard him right. Harry started to nervously run his hand through his hair._

_"I figured, the flat we are in is kind of small and we might want a bigger place. This was one of the Potter houses that I inherited. It was the smallest of them. Believe me when I say the Potters loved their large homes. So when I found this one I decided to fixed it up and thought I would surprise you with it. The only thing left to be do is the nursery, which I figured you would want a say in that." He nervously watched his wife look from the house, to him, back to the house. Finally a small smile formed on her face._

_"Well are you going to show me the inside, or will we just stand here until I go into labor?"_

* * *

"Dad, are you sure you'll be ok by yourself?" Albus asked hesitantly. He looked at his father sitting at the kitchen table with an untouched cup of tea in front of him.

"Al, we went over this. You have already taken to much time off of work. You have to go back to Norway." Harry looked at his grown son. It was hard to believe that all of his children were grown and out of the house. Albus ran his hand through his black hair, very much like his father often did.

"Alright dad, but if you need anything, let me know. I have a few months left in Norway. I should be home for your birthday and I will have a couple weeks home before they send me off to my next location." Albus put his arm around his dad. It was hard to see his father broken like this. He had always been so strong. "I love you dad."

Harry hardly noticed when Albus left. He was not sure how long he sat there staring at his tea. Eventually he got up and went upstairs. He stared at all of the doors in front of him. When he had fixed up this house he had seen the large number of rooms as potential, enough room for Teddy, the new baby and any other children that might come along. Now all the empty rooms seemed haunted to him. All of his children had now left the house. The house was full of empty rooms.

He stared at the door that led to the master bedroom, the room he and Ginny had shared for 25 years. He had not slept in there since Ginny had left him. He had only entered the room to get some clothes from the closet. He sighed, and walked back down the stairs. He ambled from room to room, finally settling down on the couch in his study.

That was where Hermione found him several hours later, fast asleep. She decided not to wake him, but instead went into the kitchen and started to cook something for dinner. She was sure that he had not eaten a decent meal since the funeral meal three days ago. Even though Albus had been staying here, she knew he was very much like Harry, who really did not do much cooking.

The smell of food woke Harry up from his nap. He was a bit confused by the smell. He thought he was the only one at the house. He went into the kitchen and found Hermione setting the table.

"Oh good, your up. Sit down. The food is almost ready." Hermione pushed Harry into the chair and brought the food to the table.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Can't a friend come over and check on her grieving best friend?" Hermione pretended to be hurt by his words. Harry chuckled softly, something he had not done for a while.

"I didn't mean you shouldn't be here, I was just a bit confused by your presence." Harry started to eat the food in front of him, which made Hermione smile.

"Ron and I decided that you needed someone to check up on you periodically for a while. I knew that Albus was leaving today, and I figured you might be lonely."

"You and Ron were in the same room together?" Harry asked raising his eyebrow.

"Hey, we have been very civil with each other since the divorce. Anyways, there should be someone checking on you every day for the next couple of weeks, or until it seems you are alright."

"I don't need to be watched like a child. I can take care of myself." He was bit upset that his friends thought of him in such a way. He had after all survived many encounters with Voldemort, even faced his own death at 17.

"We know you can take care of yourself physically, it's your emotional state we are worried about. We love you and don't want you to waste away into depression." He looked into her eyes, and saw sincere concern.

"Thank you," he whispered. He was not sure how he would make it through the next few days, weeks, months, and years. He was glad he had such a good friend by his side.

Hermione stayed long enough to wash up the dishes, but then she said goodbye, leaving Harry alone once again. He sat at the kitchen table for a while, unsure what to do. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by a wave of grief. How could he continue on without Ginny?

He sobbed for an hour before he finally calmed down a bit. He wanted to go with Ginny, leave this world, but he knew that was not what she wanted him to do. So instead he decided the next best thing would be to try and forget about the world and be numb to it. He went to the cabinet to see what alcohol he had on hand.


	3. Life Keeps Going

Disclaimer: I did not come up with the world of Harry Potter, I only play in it.

* * *

_Harry gazed at his newborn daughter in his arms. He could not believe how quickly she had captured his heart. He had been happy and proud when his two sons were born, but there was something different about holding his little girl. Ron had warned him that this would happen. Even Arthur had forewarned Harry that little girls tend to turn their father's hearts into mush._

_The little girl in his arms stirred a bit and gave a big yawn. She opened her eyes and looked up to her father. She had the typical baby blue eyes that most newborns have. Harry had a suspicion that they would turn the beautiful brown color that her mother had. The soft fuzz on her head was distinctly red. Harry chuckled at the fact that not all of his children had escaped that Weasley trait._

_"Is she up?" Ginny asked sleepily from the bed._

_"Yeah, but she is fine. She isn't fussing." He continued to marvel at his beautiful little princess._

_"You know we have to decide on a name." She smiled at her husband. Harry had been so nervous about having a girl, and yet here he was completely enthralled by her._

_"I know. We can't keep calling her baby girl Potter for the rest of her life."_

_"How about Lily." Ginny said quietly to her husband. He looked up from the little girl into the beautiful eyes of his wife._

_"Are you sure?"_

_"I think it would be a great name for our daughter." She smiled._

_"What about her middle name?" He went back to looking at his daughter who had gone back to sleep in his arms._

_"I have a couple of different ideas, but I like the sound of Luna. Lily Luna Potter. But I am open to other names too."_

_"I think that sounds perfect."_

* * *

Lily sat at the table in the restaurant, impatiently waiting. She looked at her watch again. She only had an hour break, and her dad was 15 minutes late. She looked back at the door, and finally saw his salt and pepper messy hair. He spotted her right away and came over to her table.

"I'm sorry I'm late princess," he said. He kissed her cheek and sat down at the table.

"It's ok dad, I know today was your first day back at the ministry. You must be very busy. Is it going alright?" She asked.

"It has been very busy. I missed a lot when I was gone. Thankfully Dennis Creevey has been keeping things together for me. How is training going?"

"It's going alright. My supervisor says I am doing very well. They are giving us harder cases now." She smiled up at her father. She remembered the day she had told her parents she wanted to be a healer. They both were so proud of her. It had taken a lot of work, and some extra help from her cousin Rose, but she managed to get the scores she needed to enter the training program. Here she was, coming to the end of her training.

The two of them ate and talked about different things. Unfortunately time is a cruel thing, and to soon their visit was over.

"How about I come over for dinner this weekend. Maybe we can see if James and Nicola can come over too." Lily tried to act causal about the suggestion, but Harry knew what she was doing. She was a part of the team that insisted he be checked up on. He smiled.

"Sure sweetheart. Sounds good"

He returned to work and got through the day. He had a lot of work to do, so he stayed busy. When he couldn't avoided any longer, he reluctantly returned to the empty house. It was cold and dark, and haunted by memories of the past. He opted not to make dinner, but instead grabbed a bottle of mead from the cabinet. He also grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Guess I will have to go buy some more tomorrow," Harry quietly muttered to himself after noticing there were no other bottles of firewhiskey or any other alcohol left in the cabinet.

He went into the study and sat in front of the telly. When he had first brought it home, Ginny had thought he had gone mad. She didn't understand why he wanted one. Over the years the telly was not used very often. Harry liked to keep up with the muggle world, so he would watch the news occasionally. He also watched the Quidditch games on the Wizarding Channel. Other than that, it was rarely used. But since Albus had left a week ago, he had it on almost constantly when he was home.

Harry turned on the Wizarding channel. A few years after the war, Harry and some muggle born wizards had finally convinced the ministry into developing a channel on the telly, similar to the wireless network they used. There had been a lot of things to work out, and there were lots of bugs in the beginning, but they had finally figured it out. There were still some wizarding families that did not like the idea, but over all it was well liked by the majority of the wizarding population.

A Quidditch match was on the channel. Harry normally loved to watch the matches, but tonight it brought up some anger. If Ginny had not gotten sick and died, she would be at that game and reporting on it. He was angry that she had left him. He threw the nearly bottle of mead at the telly and shattered the glass. He started to sob uncontrollably. After a while Harry calmed down and fixed the telly. He picked up the bottle of firewhisky and drank until he forgot about the world.


	4. Surprising News

Disclaimer:I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry stepped out of the fireplace and found their small flat filled with smoke. He ran into the kitchen to see what had happened. Ginny sat on the floor crying as the meal she had been working sat ruined on the counter._

_"What happened?" Harry asked. Ginny had never made this big of a mess making dinner. Occasionally she would burn the dinner a bit, but never like this. He quickly made the smoke disappear and got on the floor next to Ginny._

_"I…I wanted… to make… a… a perfect dinner…but I ruined it," Ginny was able to get out in between her sobs. He pulled her into an embrace. It surprised Harry to see Ginny like this. She usually was not one to break down like this, especially for something so silly as a ruined dinner._

_"It's ok Gin, We can just order something." He tried to console her. She seemed to be calming down a bit with Harry there next to her._

_"But I wanted to make this big dinner and then during dessert I would share with you the big news, but now it's all ruined." She started to cry again. Harry was a bit concerned. She rarely cried like this. Was there something wrong with her?_

_"Look at me Gin, please." She slowly lifted up her head and stared into his eyes. "We don't need to have a big dinner. And you can still share your big news with me over dessert."_

_"I just wanted everything to be perfect for when I told you we were going to have a baby." She said quietly. It took Harry a moment to comprehend what she had said._

_"Are you… are you pregnant Ginny?" He stared at her beautiful brown eyes. They started to tear up again as she nodded. Harry started to laugh and pulled her into a tight hug. He pulled her up and swung her around. "I'm going to be a dad!" He kept saying. Ginny's sobs turned into laughter as she saw how happy Harry was._

* * *

Lily, James and Nicola stepped into the dark and quiet kitchen. It looked as if no one was home. They were a bit surprised to find it in this state.

"Lil, dad knew we were coming right?" James turned to his sister.

"I talked to him yesterday. I confirmed the time and everything."

"I will go find him. How about you two start making some dinner." James went into the house to look for his father. Nicola, who was looking in the cabinets turned to her sister-in-law.

"How about we order in. There is not much we can make with what is here."

James heard the telly on in the study. He went in and was glad that he had found dad, and not Lily. Harry laid on the couch with an empty bottle of firewhisky in his hand. Several other bottles of various different alcoholic beverages littered the floor. He went over to the couch and gently shook his father.

"Dad, wake up." Harry opened his eyes and saw his son looking at him.

"Son? What are you here for?" Harry was not completely awake yet.

"We are here for dinner." He helped his dad get up.

"That's right, you three were coming over for dinner. I must have lost track of the time." Harry was still trying to wake up.

"Dad maybe you should take a shower before we have dinner," James suggested. Harry nodded and went upstairs to shower. When he left, James looked around the study. A sigh escaped his lips. His father had never been considered tidy, but this was ridiculous. He ran his hands through his messy dark brown hair, and started to pick up the room. James chuckled a bit. For years his father had been the one who complained about how messy James' room was. Now it was the other way around.

By the time Harry returned, all cleaned up and more alert, James had managed to pick up all the bottles and tidy things up a bit. The two of them joined the girls in the kitchen just as the food arrived. Harry managed to put on a smile and enjoy the time with his children.

"Well, I have to go. I have early rounds tomorrow." Lily stood up and gave her dad a hug. "I will see you on Tuesday for our lunch date right dad?"

"Yes princess, I will see you on Tuesday." He smiled and watched her leave.

"We should probably head out too, but before we leave, we wanted to share some news with you." James paused and looked over at Nicola. "We just found out yesterday that Nicola is pregnant. You're going to be a grandpa." Harry's face broke into a smile. He grabbed the two and pulled them into a hug.

"Congratulations you two." Harry smiled at the young couple.

"We wanted you to be the first to hear the news," Nicola said. "We are going to my parents' house tomorrow and telling them." Harry gave them both a hug again before the happy couple left. James hoped that the news would help his father through this hard time. They had not planned on having children so soon, but sometimes things happened when you did not plan them to happen.

Harry was overjoyed by the news that he was going to have his first grandchild. Of course Teddy's children were almost like grandchildren, but this was different.

Then a thought hit him like a boulder. Ginny would never get to meet her grandchildren, at least not on this side of the veil. He once again found himself on the ground sobbing.

"Ginny, why did you have to leave us. We need you. Your family needs you! I NEED YOU!" He shouted. "Dam it, Ginny, you promised you would not leave me."

Harry filled with anger stood up and started throwing things across the room. In a blind fury he wrecked his kitchen in a manner of minutes. He then grabbed another bottle of firewhisky and stumbled into the study. He had nowhere to go until Monday, so he figured he could drink until he forgot about the world.


	5. Almost Drowning

Disclaimer: If you did not already know this, I am not JKR and did not create the world of Harry Potter.

* * *

_Ginny was giving two-year-old James and baby Albus a bath. Unfortunately it was not going well. James would not sit still, making it nearly impossible to wash either child. She was soaking wet by the time Harry came into the bathroom. He had a big smile on his face._

_"Hello beautiful. I see you have had some trouble with the little ones."_

_"You could say that. Here take James and dry him off while I finish cleaning Albus up." Harry grabbed his wiggly son, managed to dry him, and somehow got him into his pajamas. While Ginny put Albus to bed, Harry sat down and read a story to James. Then Ginny came in and kissed James goodnight._

_Finally the two of them had a moment alone. Harry grabbed his wife and gave her a passionate kiss._

_"What was that for?" Ginny asked._

_"I hadn't given you a proper greeting yet. And I have some great news for you." Harry led Ginny into their bedroom and the two of them sat down on the bed together._

_"Alright, what is your good news?" Ginny asked, giving Harry her full attention._

_"Robards called me into his office today. He and Kingsley had a meeting the other day. They want me to be the Head of the Auror office. Can you believe it?" Ginny stared at Harry, unsure of what to say._

_"Harry, that's incredible. You must be the youngest Head of the department in history. I mean your only 26."_

_"I know. But both Robards and Kingsley said that I have more than shown my ability to lead and run the department. Robards wanted to retire anyways, so he thought what better time then now to have me take over." Harry was overjoyed. He had been working hard to revolutionize the ministry, and this showed how much the ministry truly valued him. The two of them spent the night in bed discussing the possibilities that this promotion would provide._

* * *

Harry sat at his desk trying to focus on the report in front of him. Some days he felt like it was pointless to come into work. Dennis did most of the work for him anyways. He put the report down and put his head in his hands. He did not know what he was doing anymore. Suddenly Hermione came into his office in a huff

"Harry, You made a mistake again!" She yelled at him, throwing a report on his desk. He slowly lifted his head from his hands. She noticed his eyes were bloodshot. She sat down in front of his desk and lowered her voice. "You have to be careful Harry. If you keep this up… well there will be no choice but to remove you." Harry put his head back in his hands.

"I know. I just can't seem to focus. Maybe I should just resign. Dennis could take my place. He does most of my job anyways." Hermione sighed. She hated seeing Harry like this. Never in his life did he just give up like this.

"Maybe you can retire. I mean it's not like you really need the money. You could still come back and help train the recruits. You like doing that." She was really concerned for her friend. He sat there for a couple of minutes, and then finally stood up slowly.

"I'll go talk to the minister. I don't want to make your job any harder." She watched as her best friend walked out of the room looking so defeated.

After talking with the minister and talking with Dennis, Harry returned home. He really had no idea what he was going to do now. Since Dennis had a firm grasp of the department, Harry did not feel like there was any need for him to train Dennis. They all had agreed that Harry would come back and help train the recruits, but that would not be until the summer. He reached into the liquor cabinet, only to find it empty.

"Dammit, I'm out" Harry grumbled to himself. He tried to remember where he had gone last time to restock his cabinet. He was careful not to frequent the same place. Just then Ron stepped out of the fireplace and into his kitchen.

"I just heard you resigned! What is that all about?" Harry really did not want to talk about it, but he sat down and told Ron about his decision.

"I just can't do it anymore Ron, I keep making mistakes, and I can't focus on what I am doing." Harry shoulders slumped. Ron did not know what to do. Even in the darkest of times, Harry had never just given up. Harry had always been the strong one. "Ron, can I ask you a favor? I am out of firewhisky. Could you go out and pick me up a couple of bottles? It helps me sleep at night."

Ron looked his friend over. It did appear as if he had not slept well in days.

"I'll be back in a bit." After Ron left, Harry stumbled into the study and fell onto the couch. He turned on the telly to drown out the silence of the house. When Ron returned he found Harry sound asleep on the couch. He was leaving the bottle of liquor on the table when Hermione stepped out of the fireplace. The two of them stared at each other for a bit, not sure what to do.

"I was just checking on him. I heard that he resigned, and I figured he needed some support." Ron stared at his shoes.

"I'm glad you came over. It was not an easy day for Harry." She gave Ron a small smile.

"Well, he's asleep in the other room, so I am heading out. See you around." And with that Ron left the house. Hermione looked at the bottles Ron had left on the table. She had a feeling that her friend was in deeper trouble then they thought.

"Oh Harry, what are we going to do with you?" She shed a couple of tears for her hurting friend. She had to help him get through this. This was not how Ginny would want him to live his life.


	6. Shouting Match

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

_"I cannot believe you Harry. You're siding with HER? Your suppose to be on my side! You're MY husband!" Ginny yelled at her husband. A simple misunderstanding had turned into a huge screaming match._

_"I may be YOUR husband, but she is right Ginny." Harry had obviously said the wrong thing. Ginny was so angry that she could not formulate any words. Instead she grabbed the vase from the dresser and threw it at her husband. Luckily his Quidditch skills kicked in and he dodged the vase._

_He did not want to deal with this anymore, so he left the room, slamming the door behind him. A more rational Harry would have thought about the sleeping children down the hall, but the angry Harry did not care. He left the house and apparited to the first place he could think of._

_Ron answered the door holding a wide-awake Hugo. He looked at Harry and without a word let him in the house._

_"Can I ask what brings you here at this hour?" Ron finally asked._

_"Ginny and I had a huge fight, and not our normal squabble, but a full out screaming match ending with your sister throwing a vase at me." Harry plopped on the couch and put his head in his hands_

_"Ron, who was at the door? Oh Harry!" Hermione walked into the room and noticed her dejected friend. She grabbed her son out of Ron's arms. "Why don't you go make some tea for us."_

_Ron nodded and went to fetch the tea. Hermione sat next to Harry, not saying a word, but just offering comfort to him._

_"I really messed things up this time Hermione. I don't know what to do now." He looked to his friend hoping for some consolation. Although Ron was a great friend, when he was going through a hard time, it was Hermione's company that he looked for._

_"Give her some time to cool off. You know that Weasley temper can get pretty nasty, but they cool off eventually." She smiled as her husband came back into the room._

_"I'm sorry for bothering you two so late. I should just go back home." He started to get up, only to have Ron push him back down into the couch._

_"Stay for a bit. Have some tea and let Ginny calm down. As you can see we won't be going to sleep anytime soon." At that moment Hugo started to fuss some more. Harry tried to argued, but both Ron and Hermione wore him down. They sat and talked for a couple of hours until Hugo finally fell asleep in his uncle's arms._

_Harry quietly reentered his home past midnight. He hoever noticed that the light in the kitchen was on. He walked in to find Ginny sitting at the table with a cup of tea in front of her. He went over to the table and silently sat down across from her. She conjured up a cup for him and poured him some tea._

_"I'm sorry Ginny. I was being insensitive to you. I messed up." He quietly said into his tea. He was afraid that she would start yelling but thankfully she did not._

_"I am the one that should be sorry." She replied. He looked into her brown eyes, and noticed that they were tear filled. "I blew everything out of proportion." Before they knew it they were embracing each other and making things right again._

* * *

"Aunt Hermione, have you talked to my dad lately. He never showed up to our lunch date today. Usually he lets me know if he can't make it, but he didn't" Lily frantically came into her aunt's office. "He has never missed one of our dates" Hermione looked at her niece. She was obviously worried about her father. She also looked exhausted from work.

"Lil, why don't you go home and get some rest. I will stop by your dad's house after work and see what's going on. He probably just lost track of time." She tried to reassure her niece, but she was just as worried about her friend. He loved his dates with Lily. He never missed them unless it was unavoidable.

When Hermione stepped into Harry's kitchen she noticed a big difference since the last time she had been there a week ago. How could things have gotten this bad in just a week? There were a dozen or more bottles of various different kinds of alcohol thrown all over the kitchen. The dishes in the sink were piled up, and the trash was full. She noticed a few more bottles in the trash as well.

She knew exactly where he was. She walked into the study to find it in just as bad, if not worse shape then the kitchen. Over the past month She had noticed that Harry was drinking more than he should, but she did not realize how bad it had gotten. Concern was replaced by anger. Ginny would never have allowed this. Since Ginny was not here, Hermione knew it was her job.

She summoned a bucket and filled it with ice-cold water. She then threw it on her friend asleep on the couch.

"Bloody Hell! Hermione!? What the hell are you doing?" he yelled at her.

"Your daughter came to see me today," Hermione yelled back at him.. "You missed your date with her today. She is worried about you, and after seeing this mess, she has every right to be worried."

"I will send her a letter apologizing for missing the date. And so what if my house is a mess, I haven't felt like cleaning up lately. What does it matter anyways, it's not like anyone else lives here." His eyes were filled with anger. No one likes to be woken up with cold water, especially if you have a hang over. He was not pleased with Hermione.

"A mess? Harry I was here last week. You obviously have done nothing except drink. Are you trying to drown yourself, or fill up your system with enough alcohol that you become flammable?" Hermione kept on staring into Harry's angry bloodshot eyes. She was not backing down.

"What do you care Hermione? I am not hurting anyone." He shouted back at her. At this Hermione started to tear up.

"Not hurting anyone? Oh Harry, don't you see, seeing you like this is hurting me. This is not you. If you kids find out, it will break their hearts too." She broke the eye contact they had maintained throughout their shouting match, and turned her back on him. "I will clean up the kitchen and get us some food."

Harry fell back into the couch. How could he have let this happen? He heard her leave the room. He knew she was right. Hermione was always right. But this was the only way he was making it through the day right now.

Hermione walked into the kitchen and looked around again at the mess. She sat down at the table and cried for a couple of minutes. How did she not see this? How did she let it get this bad? She had failed.

She heard Harry go upstairs. She knew the only reason he went upstairs was to shower. She wiped the tears from her eyes and got to work in the kitchen. By the time Harry came back down the kitchen was clean, and a pot of tea was brewing. He stood in the door way watching her search the cabinets for something to eat

"You won't find anything in the cabinets. I don't think there has been real food since Ginny went to the hospital."

"That's ok, I can run to my place and grab something. Here, drink some tea and I will be back in a flash." She pushed Harry into a chair, something that was much easier than it should have been. She places a cup in front of Harry, and Flooed to her flat before he could say a word.

She returned a few minutes later and found Harry staring at the cup. She got a stew started and then sat in front of Harry, who still hadn't touched the tea.

"I really made a mess of things, didn't I?" Harry said quietly.

"I know this has been hard on you, but you have to remember that you are not alone. Your children love you and are worried about you. The whole Weasley family has been asking Ron about you. We all love you so much, and want to see you be yourself again.

"I don't know if that is possible. When Ginny died, a part of me died with her. I don't know how to be Harry without her. I don't know how to live without her. So I drank. I drank to forget. I drank to stop feeling this way. I drank because I did not know what else to do."

Hermione reached out and grabbed his hand. Her warm hands were such a comfort to him. He looked into her warm brown eyes.

"Please, let me help you Harry." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear.


	7. Birthday Party

Disclaimer: The world and characters of Harry do not belong to me, I just play with them.

* * *

_"Come on Harry, Mum will be mad with me if we are late." Ginny pulled him toward the garden behind the burrow._

_"This isn't going to be a big party is it?"_

_"Of course it is," Ginny flashed him a mischievous grin. Harry groaned. He hatted big affairs, especially if he was the center of attention._

_As they rounded the corner Harry saw more people then he ever expected. It seemed as if every living person who knew Harry was in attendance. He could not believe it._

_"It looks like your mom outdid herself again."_

_"Harry, a year ago we did not know if any of us would survive the war. This is not just your birthday celebration, but also a celebration of life, and hope for the future."_

* * *

_"Keep your eyes closed dad," Thirteen-year-old Albus kept reminding his father._

_"Are you three going to tell me what's going on?" Harry laughed at his children's antics. The three of them had trapped Harry in his study for hours. Then they made him close his eyes and they led him somewhere, his guess was the garden since they had not left the property. Finally they stopped._

_"Ok daddy, you can open them," Lily finally said. When Harry opened his eyes he was greeted by a large crowed of people._

_"Surprise!"_

_Ginny came running over to him, wearing a very beautiful green dress. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and led him over to a table with a large cake on it._

_"You didn't think that we would forget about your fortieth birthday?" She gave him a mischievous smile._

_"You know how I feel about big events like this." He shot her a glare._

_"I know, but I got so many letters asking if I was doing something, that I felt like I needed to."_

_They had lots of fun. The children ran around playing different games, and causing lots of mayhem while the adults relived their younger days through stories of the past. As the party started to wind down, Harry noticed for the first time that his wife was not her usual self._

_"Are you feeling alright?" He asked when they had a moment to themselves._

_"I'm fine, just a bit tired. I have been overworking myself." She gave him a warm smile, but he noticed the dark circles under her eyes._

* * *

"I don't know if I can do this Hermione." Harry whined. He had been trying to weasel out of his birthday party for several days. Hermione glared at him, tired of this battle.

"Harry, we have talked about this. Your kids have worked hard at planning this party. James, Albus and Lily want you there. The whole Weasley family wants to see you. Most of them haven't seen you since the funeral." She was tired of this. Harry frustratingly ran his hands through his hair. He obviously was tired of this too.

"I know. I don't want to let anyone down. But this is my first birthday without her."

"We all know this Harry. We all know this will be hard, specially knowing that her birthday is just days away as well. But we can be there for each other and make it through." Her face softened a bit.

"What if I slip up and have a drink?" Harry was looking down at his shoes. She was a bit shocked. This was the first time he had brought up this fear. She walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"I am so proud of how hard you have worked over the last month. I made sure that the strongest drink they will have is butterbeer." Harry's head snapped up at this statement.

"You told them about… about my problem?" He was obviously upset about this. She sighed.

"I told Molly and Arthur, both of whom love you and want to help you. They are the only ones." He nodded, showing his understanding and acceptance of the decision.

"We have to go or we will be late." She turned to the fireplace but was stopped by one more question.

"Will you be alright?" She turned to face him. Leave it to Harry to be concerned about how she would handle being around the Weasley family. "I mean you haven't been to a Weasley gathering since the divorce, except for Ginny's funeral."

"I think Molly and I have finally reached an understanding. I know she blames me for the divorce, but I think she is finally accepting it and willing to let it go, at least for today."

"What happened between you two? You two always had you moments, but you seemed to patch everything up eventually. You would argue but then you always manage to make up." Harry had never asked either of them that question, but now he wanted to know. He watched as his best friend's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"The the thing is we stopped fighting."

"What do you mean, that sounds like a good thing?"

"Once Hugo went off to Hogwarts, we spoke less and less to each other. After a while we realized that we were strangers living in the same house. When we argued, we at least knew where the other one stood. The arguing was just our way of showing our passion. And your right, we did always patch things up. But we eventually stopped arguing, stopped talking, stopped caring. And then…" She started to tear up. She could not finish her last thought.

"I'm sorry Hermione." He now felt crummy about bring this up. She wiped her eyes quickly and met his eyes.

"It's alright. It took us a while to realize that the way we were living was unhealthy. We tried counseling, but it did not really help. So we got the divorce. The funny thing it that I think Ron and I are communicating more now. Now, no more stalling. We have to go." This time She grabbed Harry's arms and dragged him to the fireplace.

As soon as Harry stepped out of the fireplace at the Burrow, he was engulfed by his youngest.

"We were afraid you wouldn't show up." She exclaimed as she hugged him tight.

"Lily, let him breath," James came over, and once Lily let go he also gave his dad a hug. Finally Albus came over and gave him a hug as well. Harry looked at his three children and smiled. He loved them so much. It was at this moment that he realized Ginny lived on through his children.

The family enjoyed each other's company and they had a lovely day. It was strange for Harry to see his nieces and nephews all grown up. Harry had fun playing with Teddy's children, even holding the newest baby. Finally as the sun began to set, the Weasley and Potter boys got together to do a fireworks show. Harry sat down in a chair and watched the boys argue and bicker about the best way to do it.

"Looks like you need a drink," George came over and handed Harry a glass. Harry face showed a bit of panic, which George picked up on. "Don't worry, it's just club soda. It's what I'm drinking" George sat down next to Harry and they sat there in silence for a bit before George spoke again.

"Hermione told me about your struggle." Harry started to open his mouth to say something, but George quickly interjected. "Don't be upset with her. I know she is worried about you. Be glad you have someone who will help you through it."

"How did you get past it?" Harry asked, remembering that George had gone through a similar struggle after his twin had died.

"After Fred died, I wanted to die as well and join him. But I could not bring myself to do that, so I drank. I figured if I drank enough, maybe I would forget about everything, or at least I wouldn't feel anything anymore." George paused as he took a drink. Harry nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about. "Angelina was the one that saved me. She came into my flat one day and dumbed a bucket of water on me. She yelled at me and told me I was being stupid. She hasn't left my side since." Harry saw a smile form across George's face.

"Hermione dumped a bucket of water on me too." The two of them chuckled.

"She's a good woman. Ron really messed things up with her." George muttered as he took another drink. Harry was a little shocked to hear George side with Hermione. Harry looked around and found Hermione sitting with many of the aunts, probably grilling Rose and her fiancé about their wedding plans. It was good to see the family still accepting Hermione even though she technically was not a Weasley anymore.

"Harry, I want you to know that the pain never goes away. I know you have lost plenty of loved one in the past, but you need to hear this. The pain won't ever go away completely, but it will get easier to handle. But drinking won't help the process. Enjoying those that are still here with you will. We have always considered you a part of our family. You are my little brother. If you ever need anything, or get the urge to drink again, come to me." And with that George stood up and went over to his wife. He gave her a deep, passionate kiss, while their children made gagging noises. George's seat was soon filled by a familiar presence.

"Thank you for telling George." Harry said quietly to Hermione. She smiled back at him.

"I figured it would be good for you to have someone who has been in the same place as you have."

Finally the fireworks started up and the night sky filled with bright colors. Harry realized that his birthday had not been too bad. He really missed Ginny, but he still had a part of her with him. He had his memories and his children.


	8. Cuts and Bruises

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Harry and Ron each sat on a cot in a room at St Mungo. Their mission had gone wrong, and now their multiple injuries were being taken care of right now. Abruptly the door to their room slammed open. A very angry red head came into the room. Hermione followed Ginny in, calmer, but still obviously angry at the two men.

"Harry James Potter! What were you thinking? You could have been killed! The two of you took on ten dark wizards. TEN! What made you think you could do that." Ginny screamed as her fiancé flinched back from her anger. When she took a breath Ron opened his mouth.

"We had bad intelligence Ginny. We did not realize there were more than five in that house." This just flared her up even more.

"You think that makes me feel better. That you TWO were going up against FIVE. Do you think your immortal? Just because you defeated the greatest dark wizard of our time, you think you can't be killed!" At this Hermione placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder. Ginny, although still visibly angry, stopped yelling.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. You are right, we were stupid." Harry knew that trying to explain things, or arguing would not make the situation better. The fewer words he said, the better the situation would be. Ginny burst into tears and fell to the floor. Harry, despite the protests from the healer, immediately went to her side and held her.

"I could have lost you." She managed to say through her sobs.

"It will take a lot more than a few dark wizards to get me to leave you. I promise you I am staying by your side." He placed a soft kiss on her lips. They sat there for a few minutes just holding each other, drinking in each other's presence.

* * *

Harry stepped out of the fireplace to a wonderful smelling kitchen. Ginny always loved Halloween. Harry on the other hand did not, but he did enjoy the big feast Ginny always prepared. He looked around but didn't see his wife. He searched the house, but didn't find her.

As he went from room to room, he realized how quiet the house was with out the children. He also realized how big it was. For years the house was filled with noise and activity, but now with all three children out of the house, the house was still and silent. Even Teddy didn't come around that much anymore.

When he walked into the master bedroom Harry heard the shower running in the bathroom. A smirk appeared on his face. He slowly opened the bathroom door, being careful not to make a sound.

"Need any help in there?" Harry asked in a husky voice.

"Oh Harry! I didn't know you were home." She peeked her head around the curtain.

"That's the problem with such a big house." Harry remarked as his wife disappeared behind the curtain again. "You know, maybe we should consider moving into a smaller place."

"A smaller space? But Harry, you love this house."

"I know but with the kids off to Hogwarts, I don't know if we need such a big place anymore. You know this is James' last year at Hogwarts." Harry leaned against the counter.

"It is true that for the two of us, this house is a bit much. Maybe we can look for a nice place that has a large enough garden and living room for gatherings, but not quite so many rooms." Ginny stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

"Ginny! What happened to you?" Harry went up to Ginny and gingerly touched the bruise on her shoulder.

"Oh, I just bumped into something earlier today. It's no big deal." Ginny proceeded to dry off.

"No big deal? Ginny, you don't get a bruise like that from just bumping into something!" Harry was on the verge of freaking out.

"Really Harry. I will put some bruise balm on it and it will go away like the other bruises."

"Have you had a lot of these bruises lately?" Harry stared at his wife, noticing for the first time that she looked underweight. She had always been fit, but she was looking to skinny now.

"I have had a few. But Harry, it's not a big deal. I can take care of them with a simple potion." However she did not meet Harry's eyes when she said this.

"You should go see a healer. Please" Harry begged. Ginny wanted to protest, bit seeing the look in her husband's eyes she knew he would not back down.

"Alright, I will go see one tomorrow."

* * *

Hermione was packing up for the day when a translucent white ram came into her office.

"Aunt Hermione. I need your help. Dad has locked himself into his study."

Hermione quickly ran to the Floo fireplaces at the sound of her godson's voice. When she stepped into the kitchen she found a frazzled James pacing the kitchen.

"What happened?" She asked

"I'm not sure. I came over to see how dad was doing. You know how much he hates Halloween. He started to yell at me. I don't even know what he was yelling about. Then he went into his study and locked the door. I didn't know who else to contact." James was obviously concerned.

"You did the right thing James. I will see if I can get him out." Just then she saw the bottle on the counter. The empty bottle of firewhisky. "Shit! He's been drinking." And she rushed to the study door.

"Go away!" was response she got when she knocked on the door.

"Harry James Potter! You let me in right now!" Hermione yelled through the door. It took a few moments, but then she heard the door unlock. She entered to find the study in ruins.

"You know you could have unlocked it yourself. Your quite skilled at that." Grumble Harry.

"I could have, but I thought it was best if you opened the door for me. I did not want to be jinxed. So what's going on Harry? What brought this on?" She crossed her arms in front of her waiting for an answer.

"I fucking hate Halloween."

"So that gives you the right to drink a whole bottle of firewhisky and yell at you son?"

"I know I made a mistake! You don't have to throw it in my face!" Harry started to yell at her.

"Don't you take this out on me. You are the one who slipped up." She glared at Harry. He gave a frustrated yell and punched the telly. Glass fell everywhere, and Harry's hand was covered in cuts. He fell to the floor and sobbed. Hermione sighed and kneeled down beside him, being careful of the glass. She wrapped her gentle arms around him and pulled him into a warm embrace. They stayed that way for a while, until Harry calmed down.

"Let me look at your hand." He offered her the hand. "I think I can fix this up. Lets go sit on the couch." She helped him up and to the couch. She pulled out her wand. Very carefully she pulled out the pieces of glass still in his hand, and the healed up the cuts. She could see a faint bruise forming on his knuckles. "Do you have any bruise balm?"

"There is some upstairs, in the master bath. We had to keep a supply on hand with Ginny's illness."

"Don't move. I will be right back" With that Hermione ran up the stairs and found the balm. She then returned to apply it on Harry's hand. "It will be sore, but it should be alright. You should go and apologies to James."

"I will. Just give me a couple of minutes."

When Hermione entered the kitchen she found James sitting at the table with his head in his hands. Although he was not the spitting image of his father like Albus was, his mannerism were very much Harry. James looked up when he heard her come in. There was a look of concern on his face.

"My dad has a drinking problem, doesn't he?" Hermione sighed. She could never lie to her godson, but she didn't want to have this conversation.

"Yes he does. Your uncle George and I have been working with him. He hasn't had a drink in months. Of course he had to choose today to have a slip." James' head went back into his hands.

"What can I do to help?" He quietly said after a couple of minutes.

"I think right now your dad just need you to accept his apology. Then he needs you to love him, no matter what he does. It is probably best if you don't tell your brother and sister." She saw Harry walk through the kitchen doorway. "I better be getting home." She stood up and gave James a pat on the shoulder. As she Flooed away, she saw the father and son embracing.


	9. Christmas

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry awoke to a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen. It took him a few minutes to remember that is was Christmas. He jumped out of bed and ran into the small living room. Ginny had been working hard on decorating the flat for their first Christmas together. He saw a pile of presents under the tree. A huge smile was plastered on his face._

_Ginny walked out of the kitchen with a plate of sticky buns, a pot of hot chocolate, and two mugs. She saw her husband sitting on the floor in front of the tree like an impatient little kid. She sat down next to him and laid her load down on the floor in front of them. Before she knew it Harry had grabbed her and planted a deep passionate kiss on her lips. After several minutes, they finally parted._

_"What was that for?" Ginny asked._

_"I am just so happy." She laughed at her childlike husband. She figured it was the lack of Christmas celebrations when he was younger that made him so excited for Christmas._

_"Well go ahead and open your presents." She giggles as he snatched the packages with his name on them and tore the paper off of them. She then started opening her packages as well. It was a perfect morning._

* * *

_Harry waited at Platform 9 ¾ for his three children. Teddy stood next to his godfather. He had been a bit confused as to why Harry had asked him to come with him to pick up the kids, but he came along. It had been a while since he had seen the kids._

_Lily was the first to spot them. She ran over and engulfed her dad in a hug. Albus and James found them soon after, although neither one came running over. They both patted Teddy on the shoulder and gave their dad a quick hug._

_Teddy noticed that Harry was very quiet on the ride to the Potter home. The kids were all animatedly talking about their term. It seems as if none of them noticed their father was acting differently than normal. Now Teddy knew something was up now._

_"Alright kids, put your trunks in your room, and then meet us in the living room. You mom has some biscuits fresh from the oven to welcome you home." The three of them ran to do what was asked. Teddy and Harry walked into the living room together. Teddy stopped in the doorway. His Aunt Ginny sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, but she did not look like her normal self. She had lost a lot of weight, and she had some really dark circles under her eyes. When she saw Teddy, she got up and gave him a hug._

_"We have missed you Teddy. I know you are busy at work and with your new wife, but you have to come and see us occasionally." She teased him. He tried to smile at her. Harry noticed his godson's reaction to seeing Ginny. Teddy had always been observant to subtle changes in people. Harry was glad the two of them had decided to tell the children and Teddy together before the big Weasley Christmas party._

_James, Albus and Lily all came in the room together, all three realizing something wasn't quite right. They looked over to Teddy to see if he had an answer, but he just shrugged his shoulders._

_"Have a seat you three. Your mother and I have to talk to you about something." They sat together on the couch, leaving room for Teddy to join them. Harry sat in another overstuffed chair, while Ginny returned to her chair. Ginny and Harry exchanged looks trying to decide how to start._

_"Your mother has not been feeling very well lately. At first we thought she was just overworking herself at work. Your mother finally agreed to go see a Healer."_

_"What's wrong Mom?" Lily started to tear up. They would only be talking to them about this if it were serious._

_"The Healers aren't entirely sure yet. They say that my body's immune system is not working properly. They have tried a couple of different potions, but nothing seems to help."_

_"The Healers are going to be trying some different things, but they don't know why your mother is sick." Harry continued._

_"How can they not know what is wrong with mom?" James exclaimed._

_"Healers don't know everything. There are still lots of things we don't know about the human body. There are new diseases being discovered and new treatments being developed all the time." Ginny tried to explain._

_"What if they don't find out what is wrong with you mom?" Albus quietly asked._

_"Well hopefully they will. But even if they don't I am sure they will find a potion or two that I can take to help me." Ginny tried to reassure her children._

_"You'll be alright mom. I know the Healers will find a cure." Lily optimistically exclaimed. James and Albus though glanced at each other. They both realized that what their parents weren't telling them was that there was a chance their mother would die. Teddy, who had been very quiet, stood up and walked out of the room. Harry got up and followed, leaving Ginny with their three kids._

_Harry had a feeling he knew where Teddy had gone. Sure enough he found his godson in the tree house the two of them had build when they first moved into the house. Teddy's face was buried in his arms, hiding the fact that he was crying. Harry sat down next to him._

_"It's not fair you know. Why do we have to keep losing people," Teddy tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. Grown men weren't supposed to cry. When he looked into Harry's green eyes though, he was surprise to see them brimming with tears._

_"I know it's not fair son. Both of us have lost to many people. But we cannot stop the inevitable from happening."_

_"I know," Teddy responded, still trying to stop crying. Harry wrapped his arms around his godson and held him for a while. It wasn't fair for him to lose Ginny, who had loved him as a mother. It wasn't fair that James, Albus, and Lily would lose their mother. It was not fair that Harry would lose the love of his life. But life isn't fair._

* * *

Harry woke up and realized what day it was. He did not want to face this day. If only he could just stay in bed, but the kids were coming over this morning and then the Weasley Christmas was this afternoon. It was not going to be an easy day. Ginny had always been the one to make Christmas special.

After a while Harry grudgingly got up out of bed. He knew it was pointless to stay in bed. He decided to get some hot chocolate ready for the kids when they showed up.

As he walked down the stairs he was surprised to see the lights on in the living room. To his surprise Lily had the boxes of Christmas decorations out and was putting everything in place. She reminded him so much of Ginny. When Lily noticed she wasn't alone she lost concentration and many of the decorations fell to the ground.

"I didn't mean to startle you Lil." Harry smiled at her. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I wanted to surprise you by decorating before you woke up. I know mom was always the one to decorate." Lily was looking down at her feet when she said this. Harry couldn't help but smile.

"Continue on. I will go make us some hot chocolate and then I can help you with some of the decorating." He went into the kitchen and made a large pot of hot chocolate, a Potter tradition on Christmas morning. He grabbed the pot and two mugs and returned to the living room. He was surprised to see his daughter sitting on the floor next to the boxes crying. He placed the pot and mugs down and sat down next to her, placing his arms around her shoulders.

"I miss her dad," Lily whisper.

"I know baby. We all do," Harry continued to hold her in his arms. Lily wiped her eyes, trying to calm down.

"I thought that if I decorated the house like she used to it would be like she was with us, but it just reminds me that she isn't here." The two of them sat there a few minutes taking comfort in each other. Then they heard the fireplace and soon after Albus stuck his head in the living room.

"Did you start the decorating without me?" Albus asked seeing all the boxes already out.

"We just got started. Conjure yourself a mug and we will decorate together." Harry informed his son. The three of them enjoyed the hot chocolate and helped each other decorate. In a couple of hours they had the living room decorated and they were sitting on the couch drinking more hot chocolate and eating sticky buns. James and Nicola arrived soon after and they opened gifts together and enjoyed the morning. Although it was not the usual joyous event that Christmas had always been with Ginny, The mourning family enjoyed themselves.

The family Flooed over to the Burrow for the Weasley Christmas dinner. The normally loud and lively dinner was filled with grief. Everyone tried to enjoy themselves, but the absence of Ginny prevented anyone from really enjoying themselves.

By sunset Harry found himself sitting next to George, both with a butterbeer in their hands.

"How are you doing with all of this? If I remember right Ginny was the Christmas person."

"Honestly, I don't know how I am doing. I am trying to keep it together for the kids. I don't know what I will do tonight when I am alone again." Harry's shoulders dropped

"That's always when it hits you that hardest, when you are alone." George wished he could offer his hurting brother-in-law some advice, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could say to make the situation any better.


	10. Baby Potter

Disclaimer: You should know by now that I am not JKR.

* * *

_Harry ran down the hall of the ministry and over to the Floo fireplaces. He was going to kill Ron for this. When he reached the fireplaces, he fumbled with the powder and was barely able to say his destination clearly. He walked into his kitchen and found his mother-in-law glaring at him_

_"Where have you been? She had been asking for you. She is pretty upset that you are late." Molly gently chastised him. She could see he was a mess, so she took pity on him and helped him clean off the soot._

_"Have I missed it?" Harry managed to get out. Molly smiled at him._

_"No. She's waiting for you upstairs. The midwife says the baby will be here soon though, so you better hurry up." She ushered him upstairs, laughing quietly at her son-in-law's behavior. He was acting just like her husband had many years ago. Bill, George, and Percy had also been very flustered when their wives had given birth._

_Harry walked into the room to see his wife screaming in pain. Her red hair was soaked in sweat. When she saw him, her eyes flared up with anger._

_"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" She screamed. At that moment all Harry wanted to do was run away. He convinced himself that if he could face a crazy dark wizard, he could face his laboring wife. He walked to her side and grabbed her hand._

_"I'm sorry… I was out on an assignment, I did not get your message until I got back. Ron decided to leave me a note buried on my desk instead of trying to find me or sending me a patronus."_

_"I'll kill him." Ginny muttered. Harry had the same sentiment. Just at that moment, Ginny contracted and all thoughts about Ron left their mind._

_An hour later a loud cry was heard in the room. Harry was amazed at how loud the small child could be._

_"Congratulation! Welcome to the world baby boy Potter." The midwife handed Harry his first-born son. He stared down at the little bundle in his arms and was in awe._

* * *

_Harry woke up suddenly, not sure what had woken him up. He put his glasses on, grabbed his wand instinctively and looked around the room. He noticed that the bathroom light was on, and his wife was not lying next to him. Then he heard the sound of Ginny throwing up in the bathroom. That must have been what had woken him up._

_The Healers had given Ginny some different potions to try, and all they really seemed to do was make her unable to keep food down. They wanted her to try it for another week to see if this side effect would subside. However it was torture to Harry having to watch his wife go through this._

_He quietly walked into the bathroom and sat next to his wife. He held her hair as she had another episode, and wiped her face with a moistened towel after she was done. She gave him a weak smile._

_"I didn't mean to wake you. I am sorry. It came on so suddenly that I did not have a chance to put a silencing charm up" She leaned against her strong husband._

_"You don't need to apologies." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead._

_"I think I am good now." Ginny said as she tried to get up. Harry helped her up, noticing how weak she was._

_"Do you want something to drink?" He asked as he helped her back into bed._

_"No, I'm fine. I just want to try and get some sleep." The two of them laid in bed for a while, neither one falling asleep. Harry gently stroked her hair_

_"Ginny, maybe you should talk to the Healers tomorrow. I don't think you should keep going with these potions. You can't keep anything down, and your losing more weight." He heard Ginny give a sigh._

_"Maybe your right. I have been on these potions for a week now and I can't even keep a little broth down."_

_"We will try another combination. We'll figure out the right combination eventually." Harry tried to reassure her. In the faint light he noticed her frowning._

_"Harry, we need to be prepared if they can't figure out how to heal me, or if they can't figure it out soon enough."_

_"No Ginny. They will figure it out, and you will be just fine." Ginny sighed again. Her husband's stubbornness was setting in, or maybe it was denial._

_"Harry, They may not. You have to accept the fact that I may die." He opened his mouth to start arguing again, but she put her hand over his mouth. "Just listen please. I want to be sure that you and the children will be alright. I know that the children are financially taken care of. But you need to also be there for the children." She removed her hand and let Harry think for a bit. He laid there in silence for a bit before she heard a silent response._

_"Of course I will be there for the children." Ginny was relieved. However now she needed to find someone to watch out for Harry._

* * *

Harry was watching a Quidditch game on the tely when a familaiar white ram appeared. His son's panicked voice came from the patronus.

"Dad, the baby is coming!"

Harry turned off the tely and rushed to the fireplace to Floo over to his son's house. He found his son pacing the kitchen, obviously waiting for his father.

"There you are. The midwife said it will be a couple more hours, but I knew you wanted to be here. Dad, I don't know what to do. Nicola is in pain, and I can't do anything." James would have kept going, but Harry quickly put a silencing charm on him.

"Son, calm down and take a breath." He watched his son's attempt at taking a break. Then he removed the charm. "All you can do is be by her side, which you are not right now, so go and join her. I will contact Albus and Lily."

James nodded and ran up the stairs two at a time to rejoin his wife and the midwife. Harry chuckled a bit, remembering when James was born.

He went over to his son's owl and wrote out two quick letter for Albus and Lily. Then after the owl had left, Harry had nothing to do but wait. He went into the living room, sat on the couch and turned the tely on. 30 minutes later the fireplace turned green and Lily walked out. Albus followed soon after her.

"Dad! Any news yet?" She came and sat next to her dad. He shook his head. Albus sat on one of the overstuffed chairs.

"Hey dad, why didn't you send us a patronus? It would have gotten to us much sooner." Albus watched his dad's shoulders slump a bit.

"I havn't been able to produce a patronus since your mother died." Harry responded quietly. He did not want to admit it, but he also wanted to be honest with his children. His daughter gave him a hug and they sat quietly together watching the Quidditch game on the tely and waiting for the new Potter baby to arrive. About an hour later the midwife came into the room.

"The new baby is here. I will let your son introduce you, but I thought you might like to know that mom and baby are doing great." She then went back upstairs. They did not have to wait very long before James walked into the room with a small bundle in his arms.

"Hey everyone. I want to introduce to you Ginevra Elizabeth Potter. We decided to name her after both of her grandmothers." James had the biggest smile on his face. Harry remembered that feeling. Watching his son show off his new daughter made Harry feel like maybe he could produce a patronus.

Then James handed Harry his new granddaughter. He looked down at her beautiful face. She had very light fuzz on her head. They would have to wait to see what her hair color would be, but he assumed it would not be the dark Potter hair. After fussing over her for a bit, James took baby Evra back up to Nicola.

Lily and Albus both left soon after, but Harry decided to stay for a bit longer. He thought about the face of his granddaughter. He started to tear up a bit knowing that his wife would never meet her, but he was not consumed with grief. He looked up when his son reentered the room.

"Are you ok dad?" James asked noticing his father's tears.

"Yeah. I am just remembering your mother. I remember the day you were born, and how happy the two of us were. I am so happy for you son." Harry stood up and gave his son a hug.

"Were you scared?" James asked very quietly while in his father's arms. Harry had to chuckle a bit.

"Of course I was. I was scared that I would be a bad father, that I would mess up your life, that I would make some huge mistake. But I had your mother by my side. You have Nicola, and she has you. You will both be great parents." James smiled at his father.


	11. Future Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own anything involving Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry sat by the pond at the Burrow. He had been sitting there for a couple of hours. He had so many different things on his mind. It had been three weeks since the final battle, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not stop thinking about what he could have done differently to prevent the deaths that had occurred. He also kept thinking about what he was going to do next and the offer Kingsley had given him._

_He heard some quiet footsteps behind him. He looked and found the other thing that kept his mind busy. Ginny smiled at him and sat down next to him._

_"Are you thinking about Kingsley's offer?" She asked quietly as she picked up a stone and skipped it across the pond._

_"Among other things. I just don't know what to do."_

_"Harry, honestly, I think you are over thinking this."_

_"It's not that easy Ginny. I have wanted to be an Auror for so long, but am I really cut out for that type of work? I mean I made a lot of mistakes when I was out hunting Horcruxes with Ron and Hermione. And Hogwarts has always been my home. Part of me would love to return there, but I know it won't be the same as before. I know Hermione has already said she will be returning to Hogwarts in the fall. Ron I think is leaning toward Auror training. Ginny what do you think?" Harry turned to face the beautiful young women sitting next to him. She sat there quietly for a bit then turned to look him in the eye._

_"You should take Kingsley's offer. I really don't see you going back to Hogwarts. I know this is what you are meant to do." She looked away and quietly added, "Although I will miss you."_

_Harry reached out his hand and grabbed hers. "I will too, but it will only be for a year. And then we can figure out what our future together will be like."_

* * *

_Harry walked into the hospital room to find Lily sitting in a chair studying a book and Albus talking with his mother. Ginny and Harry had not been happy when the Healers told them she had to remain in the hospital for the next few weeks. That meant that Albus and Lily were spending most of their Easter break at the hospital._

_Lily looked up from her book and saw her dad. She smiled and put her book down._

_"Hi sweetheart. How is studying going?" He asked his daughter. She would be taking her OWLS in a few weeks, so she was spending a lot of time working on her studies._

_"Alright. I think I need a break though." She smiled._

_"Hey, there's a sister behind that book!" Albus joked with Lily._

_"Some of us actually need to study in order to do well in school." Lily threw Albus a glare. Harry smiled. Albus was a natural intellect, like his grandmother Lily. Both James and Lily had to work harder in school, which sometimes caused some conflict between the siblings._

_"Don't you worry dear," Ginny tried to calm the situation. "I had to study hard in school too. But you do need to take some breaks as well."_

_"I know. I just want to make sure I pass my OWLS so I can take the NEWTS I need." Lily said._

_"So have you decided what you want to pursue then?" Harry asked his daughter. Last time future careers came up, Lily had been unsure of what she wanted to do._

_"I think I have." Lily said quietly. She looked at her father and then at her mother in the bed. She took a breath before revealing to her parents what she was working so hard towards. "IwanttobeaHealer." She said quickly._

_"Slow down dear and speak clearly." Ginny said._

_"I want to be a Healer." Lily repeated. Her parents and bother stared at her. "I want to help people, just like the Healers have been helping mom." She was soon engulfed by her father. Ginny would have hugged her as well, except she was not allowed to get up._

_"It's a lot of work to become a healer." A voice said from the doorway. Ginny's head Healer came in. Healer Conroy walked over to Ginny's bed and did a quick diagnostic charm. After looking over the results he turned back to Lily. "You have to be determined and hard working. You also have to put your emotions aside while you work with your patients. If you would like you could shadow me during my rounds tomorrow."_

_"I would love to." Lily enthusiastically responded. She looked to her parents to make sure they were ok with it._

_"Alright, I will meet you tomorrow morning." Healer Conroy left after confirming with Lily. Harry had to admit that although Conroy was not a "warm and fuzzy" sort of guy, he knew what he was doing, and he showed he cared for his patients in his own way._

* * *

Harry saw Neville waiting for him at the entrance of Hogwarts. Neville had invited Harry to lunch. He found it a bit fishy, but since he hadn't seen his friend in a while he agreed to it. After a warm greeting, the two old friends walked up to the entrance.

"So how is retired life treating you?" Neville asked.

"I am board out of my mind," Harry responded causing Neville to laugh.

They walked into the Great Hall and walked to the head table. Harry though was distracted midway by the sight of a Gryffindor student sitting at the Slytherin table. Neville noticing what Harry was staring at chuckled again and stood next to Harry.

"It's not an uncommon sight anymore to see students of different houses sitting together. I believe it all began with the Weasley and Potter cousins sitting with each other occasionally. But Albus and Scorpius were the ones to break the Gryffindor and Slytherin barrier." Harry laughed at his statement. As they continued to walk up to the head table Harry did notice other student's sitting with their friends from other houses. He felt proud of his son who had helped break down that wall.

After a pleasant lunch, Neville showed Harry around. Although the castle mostly remained the same as it had been since they had been in school, there were a lot of changes made to the staff and the curriculum. Neville had worked hard at adding some "muggle" classes such as arithmetic and composition. He also persuaded the governors to add in more electives.

"I'm impressed Neville. You have only been headmaster for two years and you have done so much for this school." Harry praised his friend.

"Well I do have to admit that many of the changes have been in the works for years, but I was just the lucky one to figure out the logistics and actually get the approval from the governors." Finally they reached the familiar gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office. "Gillyweed." Neville said as Harry chuckled.

Harry stepped into the office and smiled. He had been in the office many times, but each headmaster brought their own character into the office. Everywhere he saw, Harry found plants. Neville had found a way to create artificial sunlight for his plants so they could thrive in the office away form natural light.

"So you are probably wondering why I asked you here today," Neville said as they both sat in a pair of comfortable chairs. Harry nodded. "Well I find myself in a situation where I am in need of a Defense Teacher. My current professor is finishing up the year, but has a great opportunity that he just cannot pass up. I would like to offer you the position."

Harry sat there stunned. He knew there had been an ulterior motive to Neville asking him here today however he had not expected this.

"I don't know Neville. I have enjoyed my guest lectures, but I don't technically have a masters in Defense."

"Really Harry, the only reason you don't have a masters is because you never went through the formal process. However I believe all of you work is proof in itself that you have the qualifications to teach Defense. I talked to the Board of Governors already and they have approved your appointment shall you accept it." Neville knew Harry needed convincing, so he had been prepared.

"I am sure there are plenty of others out there that could take this position." Harry was still not convinced.

"Yes, there are many out there that would be good teachers and would be willing to take the job, however YOU are the one I want. You have helped to change the ministry, and I want you by my side as I continue to change Hogwarts. Also I want someone that will be committed for the long run." Neville could tell that he was wearing Harry down.

"I just don't know Neville. I have always thought that at some point I would like to come and teach, I'm just not sure if this is the right time." Harry was still hesitating.

"Harry, I believe this is the right time. You are no longer at the ministry. You can still help with the Auror training during the summer if you would like. This will give you something to do and give you a purpose." Neville kept eye contact with his friend. Harry broke the contact and gave a sigh.

"Alright, you win." Neville smiled brightly at his friend.

"We can hammer out the details later. We will need to meet with the Board of Governors to get your contract set up. I also would like you to meet with Professor Curtis to look over the curriculum. I also have one more request."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I would like you to be the head of Gryffindor." Harry stared at him and opened his mouth to argue. "I don't need an answer today. I just want you to think about it."

"I will think about it. I unfortunately must be going. I have a date with a beautiful young lady, and if I am late she will not be happy." Harry stood up and shook Neville's hand.

"Lily did inherit Ginny's temper." He chuckled knowing who Harry was referring to.


	12. Anniversary

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry was wondering why he had agreed to this. He was sitting next to his two best friends, waiting for the memorial to begin. Ginny was sitting with her family. The only reason Ron was not with them was because he had been asked to be a part of the memorial. The "Golden Trio" as they had been named, sat up front, each preparing for their part._

_"Do you think anyone would notice if I put my invisibility cloak on and disappeared?" Harry asked his friends. Ron gave a half-hearted chuckle, while Hermione glared at him._

_"Harry, you agreed to give this speech. We talked about this. The people need to see you. You give them hope for the future amongst the pain of losing their loved ones." She felt like a broken record. Harry gave a frustrating growl and ran his hands through his hair. He hatted this, but he knew she was right._

_At that moment Hermione was given the signal to get up and give her welcoming speech. Harry had heard it enough times that he did not pay attention. Instead he looked around at the faces of those who had come to Hogwarts to remember the end of the war, and those who had fallen. It was heart wrenching to see the families of those who had died. Even a year after the war had been won, he kept thinking about what he could have done differently._

_Hermione finished her speech, and Ron stood up. He was going to read the names of those who had fallen, not just during the Battle of Hogwarts, but during the whole span of the war. Harry had thought it right to remember everyone who had been a victim of this horrible blood war. Once again Harry tuned out the words that Ron spoke. Many of the names were still hard to hear._

_When Ron finished they had a few moments of silence and then Hermione poked Harry to let him know they had come to his part of the memorial. Harry gave a sigh and stood up. He slowly walked up the steps of the stage and made his way to the podium._

_Harry looked at the speech Hermione helped him write. The rehearsed words did not seem right. Hermione started to panic a bit when Harry folded up the paper and looked out to the crowd._

_"The war we fought was a costly one and unfortunately nothing that I say here will bring back those that we love. No words can ease the pain of losing friends and family. We say to each other that they fought for a good cause, that they knew what they were getting into or that their death helped to bring the war to an end. However the pain still lingers."_

_"The best we can do is to remember those that have died. Remember who they were. Remember the things we loved about them, and the things that drove us crazy. We remember the days we spent with them. We remember the things they used to say or the way they did things." Harry paused as his eyes started to tear up. He could not help but picture the faces of those who he had lost. He took a breath and continued._

_"We also must remember why we lost our loved one. We must remember what the cost of war is, and fight to prevent that from happening again. We must remember what prejudice thinking can cause. We remember that only looking backwards can be dangerous. For if we forget these things, our loved ones will have died in vain. Their deaths would mean nothing. But if we fight to prevent such things from happening again, we honor our fallen."_

_Harry knew that his speech was much shorter then they had originally planned, but he felt the simple words were best instead of the verbose speech he had prepared. He sat down and tuned out the rest of the memorial and thought about those who had died. He would fight hard to make sure things changed for the better to prevent a wizarding war like this from happening again._

* * *

_Harry sat watching his wife sleep. She was having a hard time breathing. The healers said she had caught a bug and since her immune system was compromised, she was very sick from a common illness that would have just given her the sniffles._

_Healer Conroy walked into the room to examine his patient. He silently did a diagnostic spell. Harry had seen this enough to tell the numbers that appeared were not good._

_"She is not bouncing back like she should." Conroy wrote some information down on a paper and handed it to an assistant. "I am adding another potion to her regiment to hopefully ease her breathing. If we can get her breathing back to normal then she should start to get better."_

_"What can we do to prevent her from getting sick like this? She has been in here three times this month due to illnesses that normally would not send someone to the hospital." Harry asked, wanting to make everything better for his wife. Conroy gave a bit of a sigh._

_"Harry, I am going to be honest with you. The only way to prevent this from happening again is to isolate her. Her immune system is so compromised that any little illness will be a big deal for her. When she is sick we can't help treat her immune disease. It is a vicious cycle."_

_"So there is nothing we can do?" Harry pleaded with the healer._

_"What we are doing is all we can do. We treat her when she gets sick. When she is better we work on her immune disorder and hope to see some improvements." Conroy sat next to Harry and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. The tough healer rarely showed he cared in such a way, but there was no doubt that he cared for his patients. Harry ran his hands through his hair._

_"We have been fighting this for three years now, three years last week. I don't know what to do?"_

_"You need to be prepared that this battle will not be won. Normally if someone battles a disease for this long it will not end very well."_

_"How long?" Harry's voice pleaded with the Healer._

_"I'm not sure. She could die from this illness, or she could live for a few more years." Conroy looked Harry in the eye. He always believed in honesty. "There is a possibilities we could find a cure, but I don't want you to have high hopes."_

_Harry lost it. He started to sob. He knew this was a possibility, but to hear it from the healer made it so real. He was going to lose the love of his life. After a few minutes he calmed down._

_"Thank you Conroy. I appreciate the honesty. Please continue to take good care of her." The healer nodded and left Harry to silently keep vigil at his wife's bedside._

* * *

Harry walked slowly to the headstone. He had been dreading this day. The weather was pleasant, almost mocking the way Harry was feeling. He looked down and saw three yellow daisies lying near the headstone. He smiled. He knew that his three children had already been there.

It was a tradition that the children always gave her yellow daisies. It had started when James was three. He had picked a small handful and proudly handed them to his mother. She transfigured a small stone into a vase for the flowers and placed them on the dinner table that night. She had told Harry later that night after putting the kids to bed that daisies were one of her least favorite flowers. Over the years though they grew on her and she grew to love the flowers her children picked for her.

He sat down on the ground in front of the marble slab, and placed his hand on the cold surface. He could not read the words carved in it due to the tears that filled his eyes.

"Well Ginny, here we are a year later. I guess I am doing all right. Some days are good and other days aren't. I went through a really tough time right after you left me. I have to admit, I almost gave up. I turned to alcohol, and I lost my job. Well I didn't actually lose it. I retired before they could fire me. I tried to keep my promises to you, but it was so hard Ginny. I really did not know what to do without you." Harry took a breath. Tears flowed heavily down his cheeks.

"Hermione helped me get through those tough times. George helped too." Harry continued on after a couple of minutes. "If it wasn't for those two, I don't know where I would be right now. I probably would be lying next to you, leaving our children orphaned. Don't worry, I don't intend to leave them anytime soon." Harry remained quiet for a few minute. He watched as the sky began to turn pink. He knew he could not stay here too much longer.

"I wish you could see our little grandbaby. She is the sweetest thing ever. Each time I see her she is bigger and doing more amazing things. We decided to call her Evra. We could not call her Ginny, but Ginevra seemed like mouthful. James is being a great father. You would be so proud of him."

"I have a new job too. I will be starting in August. I will be the new Defense professor. Neville would not take no for an answer. I am actually really excited about it. I like the changes they made to the course. I am still helping out with the Auror training this summer." The sky started to get darker as the sun set further into the horizon. Harry knew he could not stay so he stood up slowly.

"I miss you Ginny. I wish you were still here with me. But I want you to know I am not giving up. I am watching over the children. I am trying to live like you want me to. I love you." With that last statement Harry conjured up a bouquet of brightly colored flowers, and laid it next to the yellow daisies. He placed a preservation charm on all the flowers and turned. He found that he was not alone.

Hermione stood there watching over her best friend. Harry chuckled. Leave it to her to figure out that he would put off coming to the grave until the last minute. She stood just far away so she could not hear what he said, but close enough that if he needed her she would be there. He walked over to her and accepted her embrace and comfort. After a few minutes they separated and both wiped the tears from their eyes. Without exchanging any words they left the graveyard.


	13. Moving On

Disclaimer: I do not own the magical world or Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry picked up the last box and looked around the now empty room. He had been living at the Burrow since the Battle of Hogwarts. Bill had insisted that Harry use his old room and for the past 10 month it was his home. But both he and Ron though had decided to move to a flat in London near the Ministry._

_He carried the box downstairs and placed it next to his other boxes and trunk. He did not have a lot, but he thought back to his childhood and this seemed like a lot. Ron followed him down with his own box in his arms and placing it in his own slightly larger pile._

_"I think that is the last of all my thing." Ron commented._

_"Yeah, me too." They stared at each other, unsure what to do now. They had been planning this move for a while now, but now that it was here, they apprehensive. They both knew they could not live at the burrow forever, and they knew it was time to move out and grow up, however it was not an easy thing._

_"Did you boys get everything?" Molly came in and checked on the boys._

_"We did mom." Ron replied. Molly looked over her two boys and she started to tear up. After the boys left, she would only have Ginny, but she knew that would not last long. Her family was growing up._

_"And you boys are coming over for dinner on Saturday right?" She asked. Ron rolled his eyes. She had asked the same question several times already. Harry though went over and gave Molly a hug. He saw that this was just her way of coping with her loss._

_"We wouldn't miss it. Besides it might be the only decent meal we get this week." Harry smiled at her and wiped away his own tears. Molly went over to her youngest son and pulled him into a tight hug. Ron's ears turn a light shade of pink, but he did not pull away._

_"If you two need anything let us know." It was a natural part of life, letting your children grow up and leave, but that did not mean it was easy._

_The two boys nodded, gave their mother one last hug and left the Burrow._

* * *

_Harry stepped into his kitchen. He hated how quiet it was. It reminded him of just how bad Ginny's disease was. Even with the kids gone, she had tried to make the home lively. But now when he came home it was dark, cold and quiet._

_When she was healthy enough to come home for a bit, she was to weak to really do anything. She had taken up knitting to occupy her time, and not the wizard way, but the muggle way. Each of their children plus Teddy now had probably half a dozen sweaters, hats, pairs of sock and scarfs. She had even started to knit some baby sweaters for her future grandchildren._

_Harry had come home to pick up some clothes and to check up on things. He rarely slept at home anymore. The owls somehow knew to deliver their mail to the hospital so he did not have to worry about that._

_He went upstairs and grabbed some clothes. Then he went into their library and picked up a few more books, while leaving behind some books the two of them were done reading._

_He wandered from room to room just making sure everything was in order before he went back into the kitchen. He felt like he was in limbo. He did not live here, but could you really say you were living at the hospital? He did not want to stay in the quiet house, but he also did not want to go to the hospital. The only thing waiting for him at the hospital was Ginny, and he hated seeing her this way. So he sat at the table for a bit._

_Before all of this started they had talked about moving to a smaller place. Maybe he should look into moving to a flat in London. It would make the commute easier to the hospital. However he could not let go of this place. It held to many memories. It was where his family grew up. He had planned for his grandchildren to grow up here too. He pictures his house being like the Burrow, a place for his children and grandchildren to always call home. Now he was not sure if it would happen._

_He slowly got up from the chair. He needed to get back to Ginny. He turned off all the lights, made sure all the security wards were in place and Flooed back to the hospital._

* * *

Harry stood in his study looking at all the things that filled the room. He had to decide what he was taking with him and what was going into a vault in Gringotts. It was a little overwhelming.

"Dad? Oh here you are." Lily came into the room to see her dad standing and staring. She knew this was hard for him, which was why she had offered to help him.

"Hey sweetheart. How is it going upstairs?" Harry turned and looked at his daughter.

"I packed up all of my room and already sent it over to my flat. I will start on James's room next. He told me just to send it all over so he can go over it. Albus want me to put all his things in a vault for him to look over later."

"Good." Harry turned back and looked once again at all of the things he had accumulated over the years. It surprised him how much he actually had. Growing up all that he owned fit in the cupboard under the stairs. Then when he went to Hogwarts everything fit into his trunk. When he left the Weasley's he had just a handful of boxes. Now he had more then he knew what to do with.

"Do you want help dad?" The young women asked. She did not like how lost her dad looked.

"No, It is just a bit overwhelming. You don't realize how much you have until you pack it all up." And with that they both went back to work packing things up. Lily returned upstairs to James's room while Harry started to pack up the study. Then he moved to the kitchen. Since the Hogwarts elves would do most of his cooking, He would not need a lot.

"Are you hungry dad?" Lily came into the kitchen after finishing her brother's room.

"I could eat." Harry responded. Lily smiled and grabbed the muggle phone.

"How about Pizza. I normally don't get to eat it since I don't venture into the muggle world much. We will have to pick it up though."

"Sounds good. Make sure there is pepperoni on it." He continued to pack up the kitchen as Lily called in an order of pizza, which they would pick up in 20 minutes.

When they returned with the hot pizza and cold drinks, they sat in the living room and ate.

"It is so weird seeing the house half packed up. We have lived here all my life."

"Yes it is a bit strange. I will sure miss this place." Harry stared off nostalgically.

"Maybe when Albus decides he is done traveling the world and moves back he will want this place." Lily commented. Although they both laughed at the idea of Albus settling down. He was a free spirit like Uncle Charlie.

"I doubt that. I am not sure when this house will be used again. James and Nicola are happy in their place. Maybe you will want it if you find a nice wizard to settle down with." He smiled at his daughter.

"Your funny dad. I don't have time to find a nice wizard." Lily was very beautiful, and could have almost any guy she wanted, but she was picky and too focused on her work to date. "Alright let's get back to work."

They cleaned up their lunch and continued working. By the end of the day the house was packed up and the only thing left to do was to arrange for Gringotts to pick up the things going into a vault. Harry had all of the things he was taking with him to Hogwarts in a small pile by the front door.

"Everything from upstairs is down in the living room. I think this is it Dad." Lily looked around as tears started to fall. She would miss this house. Harry gave his daughter a reassuring hug.

"It's hard to close a chapter in your life story." Harry said with tears in his own eyes. "Your mother said that to James when he graduated from Hogwarts."

With that Harry shrunk his boxes so they would fit into one trunk and carried it outside to where he would apparate to Hogsmeade. Father and daughter took one more look at their house before they closed the door.


	14. Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry walked next to his blue haired godson. Andromeda was on the other side of Teddy. The eleven year old was obviously nervous._

_"What if I forgot to pack something?" He asked his grandmother. She smiled a sweet smile at him._

_"I can always send it to you. I do own an owl." She replied._

_"What if I don't make any friends?"_

_"You will son," Harry answered. He stopped his godson and kneeled in front of him. "Just be yourself, and there will be lots of people who will be your friend."_

_"Will you be upset if I am placed in Slytherin?" Teddy whispered._

_"Of course not. Your grandmother was a Slytherin. We don't care what house you are place in." Harry placed his hands on the boy's shoulders._

_"Will you write to me?" Teddy's every changing eyes looked first to Harry and then to his grandmother._

_"Of course we will," Andromeda answered for the both of them. Teddy seemed to be satisfied, so Harry stood up and they continued to walk to the Platform 9 and ¾ . Once through the barrier, Teddy was amazed at the sight in front of him. The magnificent red train was a welcoming sight to the students, both new and returning._

_"Alright Teddy, lets find you a compartment. Maybe we can find some other first years that you can sit with." Harry grabbed Teddy's trunk while Teddy grabbed his owl. The owl had been a present from Harry. It was a barn owl. The body and wings were a dark brown while it's heart shaped face was a brilliant white. When Teddy first saw it he said it reminded him of the full moon. So of course Harry got it for him, and Teddy named it Moony._

_They found a compartment in the middle of the train and put Teddy's thing in it. It did not take long for Teddy to find a couple of first year students to start talking with. Before long the whistle was blowing and Teddy was hugging his grandmother and godfather goodbye._

_"Make sure you use that owl. I want to hear all your adventures at Hogwarts." Harry told Teddy._

_"Make sure to stay out of trouble and listen to your teachers." Andromeda put in._

_"Don't forget about James, Albus and Lily, they will want letters too." Harry added._

_"I know, I know." Teddy said as he climbed on the train. Harry watched the train pull out of the station. It was a bittersweet moment to watch his godson leave for Hogwarts._

* * *

_Harry watched his little girl hug her mom. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was preparing for her final year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately Ginny was not well enough to escort her to the train station. Both women embraced each other and had tears running down their cheeks._

_"Now you study hard. It will be a tough year, but I know you can do this." Ginny wiped the tears from her daughter's face._

_"I promise I will work hard mom. I want to be a Healer so I have to pass all of my NEWTs. I will write you a letter at least each week to let you know how I am doing." Lily finally let go of her mom, knowing they had to leave if they were going to make it to the train station on time._

_Harry wrapped his arms around his girl and they walk out of the hospital together. They found a secluded ally where they could apparate to the King's Cross Station. It was very surreal for Harry to be walking his youngest child to the train station for the last time._

_They passed through the barrier together and silently watched the other students say their goodbyes. Finally Lily turned to her father and wrapped her arms around him._

_"I love you daddy." She said quietly to Harry._

_"I love you too," Harry responded back_

_"Take care of mom," Lily said as she let go. She did not try and hide the tears. The whistle blew, letting the students know it was time to get on the train. Lily wiped her tears away and jumped on the train. She waved to her father as the train started to slowly depart from the station._

_Harry watched the train leave. He thought sending Lily off to Hogwarts when she was eleven had been hard. But sending her off today was heartbreaking. He could not believe she was growing up._

* * *

"Alright, with that I think we are ready for the student. They should be arriving in about an hour, so take some time to relax before they arrive." Neville dismissed his staff. He was very happy with his staff this year.

Harry stood up and returned to his office. He was very nervous about today. In an hour he would officially be Professor Potter. Not only that, but he was also going to be the Head of Gryffindor. He was scared he would make a mistake. He was scared that Neville would rethink his decision.

He took a breath and calmed down. Neville had confidence in him. And he knew that everyone made mistakes, but that did not make him or her bad at their job. He had made plenty of mistakes as an Auror, but he was still considered a very good Auror. He finished up a few things in his office, trying to keep his mind busy.

"Harry, the train is about five minutes away. You should start heading down to the Great Hall." Professor Bradley Rogers said as he peeked into Harry's office. Bradley was a young man who taught arithmetic. Harry and Bradley had quickly hit it off, and despite the age difference, they became close friends.

"I'll be down in just a minute." Bradley nodded his head and left. Harry took another deep breath and then followed his colleague. He entered the Great Hall just as the first group of students started to come in. He smiled as he watched the students laugh and have a good time. Their excitement was filling him up.

Finally all the returning students were sitting at the tables waiting for the feast to begin. Then the first years were brought in. He smiled, seeing how nervous they were. It almost made him feel better.

One by one the first years were sorted into the four Houses. He paid close attention to his new Gryffindors. Then the feast began. It brought back memories. He couldn't help but remember all those time sitting with Ron and Hermione. His Hogwarts days had never been as carefree as what he observed now, but he still had some memorable times in this castle.

When all the students had finished eating, the food disappears and Neville stood up to say his welcoming speech.

"Welcome new students, and welcome back returning students. Here we are at the beginning of another year. Hopefully by the end of this year your brains will be a filled with important information."

"I know that you must be tired from the exciting day, but before I send you off to you warm inviting beds I have a few announcements to make."

"First I would like to introduce our newest professor. Professor Potter will be your new Defence teacher as well as the new Head of Gryffindor."

The student body was very enthusiastic in welcoming Harry. He stood and gave a wave. Once everyone settled down Neville continues. Neville made the usual announcements about rules and boundaries. Then he dismissed them. The other Professors also started to get up and head to their warm inviting beds.

"So Professor Potter, how are you feeling?" Neville asked his old friend.

"I am doing better now then I was earlier, however that could just be because I had such a warm welcome from the student body." Harry smiled.

"Well tomorrow will be the real test, won't it?" Neville said as the two men went their separate ways.


	15. How Are Things Going?

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_I cannot believe it has been a month since school started. I miss you so much. I wish you were here with me. Although I think that I might be distracted if you were here. Remember when we dated my fifth year. I definably did not study for my OWLs like I should have. Hermione had to get on my case about studying. She is already freaking out about our NEWTs and those are months away. However I think if Ron were here she might be a bit distracted as well._

_Classes are going pretty well. The professors are trying to make up what was lost last year. They have set up mandatory study groups to help students pass their exams. Hermione loves it. In fact she has also volunteered to help the fifth years with their OWL preparations. It's a lot of work, but at least it keeps me busy. If I had too much down time I might go crazy thinking about you._

_I hope things are going well with training. Are they working you hard? Is Ron behaving himself?_

_Just a couple more months before I see you again. I can't wait for Christmas. Then maybe we can spend some time together. Take care of yourself._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

* * *

_Healer Conroy walked into the room where one of his favorite patients stayed. He walked over to where Ginny sat, knitting yet another sweater. Harry sat next to her doing some paperwork._

_"How are we doing today?" He asked as he approached the bed. She pulled his wand out and did a quick diagnostic spell on her. Harry put his paperwork aside. Harry always made sure that he had no distractions when the Healers were in the room._

_"I would say that I am a 6 today." Ginny stated, used to this routine by now._

_"Well your numbers are looking good. Your body seems to be handling this new regimen pretty well. We should hopefully see some results in a week. If we don't then we may need to add another potion or two."_

_"That's good to hear. At least I am not violently ill like some of the other trials." Ginny gave a weak laugh._

_"If this keeps up, I might even let you go home for a bit." The Healer said as he looked over her file._

_"Really? You mean I might be able to leave this place? I mean the hospital is very warm and inviting, and I enjoy your regular visits, however I really miss my own bed and my own house." Ginny looked up at her Healer with hopeful eyes. Harry too looked up to the Healer who had been working so hard to heal his wife._

_"I tell you what, if your numbers stay this good for three more days, I will allow you to go home for the weekend." He smiled enjoying the fact that he was delivering good news today. However he had a feeling that this was just a short-lived reprieve from the storm._

_When he left, Harry immediately went over to his wife and gave her a big hug. Both of them had tears in their eyes. This was the first good news they had heard in years._

* * *

Harry stood by the gate watching the students happily walk to Hogsmeade. He was one of the unlucky Professors picked to accompany the students on their visit to the small village. He really did not have to do a lot, just walk around and make sure students were behaving themselves.

He walked the familiar path to the village thinking about the past couple of months. It was quite the adjustment being a full time professor, but he really loved it. It was a challenging yet a very rewarding occupation.

He passed by several different shops, keeping an eye on the students. They laughed and talked and ran around, just free to have a day away from the school. Then he saw a familiar face.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" He asked his good friend.

"Well I heard from a certain Headmaster that today was the first Hogsmeade visit, so I thought I would come by and see how things were going." She smiled.

"How about a drink at The Three Broomsticks. I will still be doing my job by watching the students, but can enjoy a drink with an old friend." He returned her smile.

"Hey, Who are you calling old?" Hermione said as she lightly punched Harry's shoulder. They both laughed on their way to the inn.

The place was pretty crowded with students, but they managed to find a table to sit at. Harry went to the bar and got two butterbeers and returned to the table finding one of his sixth year students talking with Hermione.

"I cannot believe I am actually talking with _The_ Hermione Weasley. I mean you have done so many things. I mean you practically changed the way the Ministry works." The young girl talked very excitedly.

"Well, it wasn't just me. I had lots of help." Hermione said, blushing a bit.

"Hello Miss Mullen. Are you enjoying your visit today?" Harry said as he sat down. The student blushed a little, which made Hermione chuckle a bit.

"I am Professor. I did not expect to meet Hermione Weasley here today." She said.

"What are you planning on doing after you graduate Miss Mullen?" Hermione asked politely.

"I haven't completely made up my mind. But I think I want to do something at the Ministry. I really want to make a difference. And I know that you can do lots of things and make a difference, but for some reason I really want to work at the ministry." She babbled on.

"Alright Miss Mullen. Send me your OWL results and the departments you might be interested in, and I will see if I can get you an internship this summer." Hermione told the girl. The girl was so happy, she said something in a high-pitched voice that no one could ever have understood, and left the building very excited.

"Well you just made a very ambitious young girl happy." Harry said.

"Well I figured that she might never leave if I didn't offer her something. Besides an internship will be good for her. She will either realize that the ministry is not for her or she will be an asset to our country."

"I do have to say, she is a hard worker, but she is a bit excitable. But I think that with the right motivation she will do some great things."

"SO, how is teaching going?" Hermione asked as she took a sip of the butterbeer.

"It is exhausting, but I love it. I can't believe I ever resisted this."

"I knew you would love it. You are a natural teacher Harry. I knew it back in fifth year when you led the DA."

"Well, if it wasn't for you I would have never done that."

The two friends sat there for two hours catching up. Hermione caught him up on everything going on at the Ministry, and Harry let him know about what things were happening at Hogwarts.

"Well, unfortunately I have to go. I am meeting Hugo and his new girlfriend for dinner." Hermione said as she started to get up.

"Well I have to go too. I have to make sure everyone makes it back to the castle in one piece." Harry laughed. "Tell Hugo I said hello. We will have to get together again." He pulled her into a hug.

"I agree. I will see you later." They both left the pub and went their own separate ways. Each one did not realize that they had a little bounce in their step.


	16. Christmas Again

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry woke up to something jumping on his bed. He instinctually reached for his wand before he realized who it was. After putting on his classes he could clearly see the face of his smiling girlfriend._

_"Well good morning to you too." He chuckled_

_"I just wanted to be the first thing you saw on Christmas." She smiled at him and curled up next to him._

_"I'm not complaining." He pulled her in closer and they laid there for a bit just enjoying each other's company._

_"It's going to be strange not having Fred here." Ginny said quietly._

_"I know." He kissed the top of her head. He knew this would be hard for the Weasley family. How could you enjoy the festive holiday when you knew there was someone missing?_

_They continued to lie there for a while, taking comfort in each other. Finally they heard Ron getting up, so they decided it was time to go downstairs for breakfast._

_"Merry Christmas!" Molly said as Harry and Ginny walked into the kitchen. She was not her normal cheerful self, and Harry could tell she had already been crying this morning. He went over and gave her a hug hoping that would giver her a bit of comfort._

_Arthur was sitting at the table already starting on his breakfast. He was also rather quiet. Harry and Ginny sat down at the table full of food. Ron soon came down and joined them._

_"George and Percy should be Flooing over soon. Bill and Fleur said they would come over this afternoon." Molly said as she sat down with the family._

_"Hermione will be coming later too mom. She just wanted to spend the morning with her parents." Ron said as he filled his plate._

_The family at quietly and finished their breakfast as George stepped out of the fireplace. It was obvious that he had not slept well. Although he was doing better, George was still struggling with the loss of his brother. Molly pulled him into a hug as soon as she saw him and held him tightly._

_When Percy arrived the family all went into the living room and started to open presents. They tried to make this a happy time, but it was hard when you were missing someone you loved._

_Later that day when everyone was present they had a wonderful meal together. Together they laughed, cried, and healed._

* * *

_"Merry Christmas!" Lily yelled as she entered her mother's hospital room. She had a box full of decoration in her arms. Her mother smiled brightly at her._

_"Merry Christmas dear. What do you have there?" She inquired._

_"I thought we could make your room a bit more festive." Lily said as Albus and James came in the room with a small Christmas tree. Harry followed with a plate of Christmas biscuits. Ginny laughed as her children started to make the room look very festive._

_"Who made the biscuits?" Ginny asked her husband as she grabbed one._

_"Your mom. You know how I am in the kitchen." Harry laughed as he helped himself to one as well. The family laughed and had fun, forgetting about where they were and why they were there._

_After the tree was decorated, and there were decorations all over the room, the kids conjured up some chairs and sat around their mother's bed._

_"You kids did a wonderful job decorating this room. I love it." Ginny smiled at her three children._

_"We figured that if you can't come home for Christmas, we would bring it here to you." Lily said to her mother as she grabbed another biscuit._

_"Well, I think this is the best Christmas gift. Thank you." Ginny's eyes started to tear up. Harry gently wiped away the tears._

* * *

Harry stepped into the burrow and experienced the chaos that is a Weasley Christmas. Teddy's kids were running around, while Molly and Fleur tried to get the meal ready. Harry heard firecrackers outside, and there was giggling coming from the other room.

"Oh Harry dear, so good to see you." Molly came over and hugged him tightly. "How is teaching going?"

"It's going very well." He returned the hug.

"Uncle Hawy! Uncle Hawy!" a small body came colliding into his legs. He lifted up the little five-year-old.

"Hello Dora. How are you doing" Harry spun little Nymphadora around.

"I'm good. I got a new dress and a new stuffed unicorn." She happily told her pseudo grandfather.

"You will have to show me your new unicorn. How are your brothers?"

"Marcel likes to make big messes, and Daniel tries to get daddy's wand." The little girl told Harry. Harry laughed as Teddy came in holding Marcel. The happy one year old was covered in dirt, cookie crumbs and who knows what else.

"Hey Uncle Harry. I see Dora has already found you." Harry put her down so he could give his godson a hug. Harry enjoyed seeing his godson grown and being a father to three wonderful children.

Harry made it through the house greeting everyone. It was a much different atmosphere then last year. Although everyone still missed Ginny, the loss was not as raw anymore.

There was one face he did not see. No matter where he went he could not find Ron. Finally he sat next to George with a butterbeer.

"Hey George, Where is Ron?" Harry asked George.

"He's not here. Mom said he was not allowed to show his face?" George said as if it where nothing.

"Why?" Harry asked surprised.

"She found out what really happened between him and Hermione."

"What do you mean, by what really happened?"

"You don't know?" George looked at Harry. Harry continued to give him a quizzical look. "I just figured with you being best friends with both Ron and Hermione one of them would have told you."

Before Harry could get anything else out of George, Angelina came over and dragged him away. Harry decided he would have to talk to one of his friends to find out what actually happened.

The celebration started to wind down, and Harry decided it was time to return to Hogwarts. He said his goodbyes and made his way to the kitchen where he knew Molly would be.

"Are you leaving Harry?" Molly asked pulling him into another hug.

"Yeah, I need to get back to Hogwarts. It was wonderful to see everyone."

"It was great seeing you. I know you busy, but we would love to see you more often." Molly said looking him over. "You take care of yourself."

"I will. And let me know if you need anything." Harry gave Molly another hug and went to the fireplace. His heart still hurt not having Ginny with him, each day was getting easier.


	17. Cherished Times

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

_Ginny walked down the stairs holding their one-year-old son. Harry smiled at his wife and the birthday boy. He could not believe Albus was a year old already._

_"Where's the terror?" Ginny jokingly asked._

_"Your mom has him. I figured, let her handle him for today." He gave her a mischievous grin._

_"Oh, your bad!" Ginny replied giving him a peck on the lips, while also handing over their son. "Take him outside. I need to check up on the cake."_

_He did as he was asked and took the birthday boy outside. The garden was full of people. Adults mingled and kept an eye on the children, while the children played and got into trouble. Harry smiled watching this. He had always wanted a family, and here he had a very large, loud, and loving family._

_Once the aunts saw Albus they crowded around Harry and soon Albus was being passed around. Knowing that he was in safe hands he found Ron and his goddaughter Rose._

_"How are things going?" Ron asked._

_"Alright. Ginny has everything under control, so I just have to be present." The boys gave a chuckle, knowing how similar Ginny was to her mother and always trying to be the perfect hostess._

_The rest of the day passed by in a blink of an eye. As the sun was setting, everyone was saying goodbye, many carrying sleeping children. Soon it was only Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione offered to stay and help clean up. Rose, Albus and James were sound asleep on the couch as the adults were cleaning up in the kitchen._

_"Another birthday down. Next month will be Rosie's second birthday." Hermione said._

_"Yes and then Lucy and Molly's joint party is always in October, Freddie's birthday is in November and then there is Louis's in December. Why do we have so many children in this family!" Ron said exasperated._

_"I like having all the get together. Before we know it they will all be in Hogwarts and we won't see each other that much." Harry put in._

_"Or we will see each other and be able to have a conversation without interruptions," Ron put in._

_"Yeah, but life with these kids is so much fun," Ginny said thinking about her two little boys._

_"So how much harder is it with two instead of just one?" Hermione asked innocently._

_"It can be a challenge, but they at least have a playmate. Why are you asking?" Ginny looked at Hermione suspiciously._

_"Well… we will be welcoming a new Weasley in the spring." Hermione announced. The girls squealed as Harry congratulated Ron._

_Once they got everything cleaned up, Ron went over and gently picked up his daughter. They said their goodbyes, and the Potters were finally alone. Harry picked up James, while Ginny picked up Albus and they took them both upstairs to their room. Once the boys were in their beds, the adults went into their room._

_"So we are alone at last, Mrs. Potter," Harry said as they entered the room._

_"Yes we are." She whispered in his ear. Harry gave her a smile and pulled her into a deep passionate kiss._

* * *

_"Are you sure your up to this?" Harry asked his wife, as she was getting ready for the big party._

_"We've gone over this. The Healer cleared me. I will be sitting most of the time. Hermione and mom are taking care of the food. I will be fine." Ginny said as she finished up in the bathroom._

_"I just want to make sure you don't overdo yourself. You just came home from the hospital yesterday." Harry looked his wife over. She smiled at him._

_"I am not going to miss my daughter's graduation party." She gave him a kiss and the two of them went downstairs._

_People were starting to come and mingle outside in the garden. It was decorated beautifully in red and gold. Lily and Hugo, the two graduates, were greeting the guests as they arrived. Harry looked around and smiled. He still loved seeing the big family that he belonged to._

_"Do you want something to drink?" Harry asked as he led his wife over to a chair._

_"I've got it dad." Albus came over with a glass of water for his mother. He put it on the table next to her and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek._

_"Harry, I'm fine. You go and greet our guests. I will stay right here and obey my Healer's orders." Ginny said._

_"Alright dear, but if you need anything flag one of us down." He kissed her cheek and went to see everyone._

_It was a crazy day. Harry was busy talking with his friends and family. He kept going and checking on Ginny throughout the day, and each time Ginny waved him off and told him she was fine. Finally as people started to leave, Harry sat down next to Ginny._

_"I think Lily had a good time today." Ginny said._

_"It's hard to believe our little girl has graduated." Harry said quietly to his wife. He looked over at her and realized she was crying. "Why are you crying?" He reached over and wiped the tears off her cheeks._

_"I am happy to see this day. I am just afraid I wont see other big events for our children. Will I get to see them getting married, or having children? How many more Christmas, birthdays and Halloweens will I get to celebrate with them?" Ginny started to really cry at this. Harry pulled her into a tight hug as she sobbed into his shoulder. Unfortunately he had no words to comfort her, because he also had the same fear._

* * *

Harry carried his granddaughter around James and Nicola's house. Every Weasley was present, and many family friends were also there to celebrate the little girl's first birthday. It was very crowded in the house, but thankfully everyone got along and enjoyed being with each other.

"You know dad, other people want to hold her too," James said as he approached his father. He had to smile though at how happy his father was holding baby Evra.

"But she is so happy with me." Harry gave his son and innocent smile.

"Well Grandma wants to see her, so you will need to debate with her." He put in. Harry reluctantly handed her off to James so Evra could see her great-grandmother.

"Uncle Harry!" Harry turned around to see his niece Roxanne walking over to him. She was holding hands with her husband, a quiet tall dark haired man.

"Well, hello Roxie! Look at you. I haven't seen you since Christmas." Harry gave her a hug.

"How is Hogwarts? I hear Headmaster Longbottom has made several changes."

"Hogwarts is good. I enjoy teaching." Harry said.

"Well in a little over eleven years your going to have our little one." Roxanne announced to her uncle.

"Well congratulations you two." Harry gave his niece another hug and shook her husband's hand.

"Well, we have to go find Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey and let them know. I will see you later." Roxanne happily skipped off, dragging her husband behind her. Harry smiled at the young couple.

Harry walked around and talked to some of his nieces and nephews, catching up with many of them. He played with Teddy's three kids. It was a great afternoon celebrating his granddaughter's birthday.

Finally at the end of the day Evra was back in his arms. Harry sat on the couch holding his sleeping granddaughter. He was so happy with her in his arms.

"There you are Harry." Ron said as he walked over and sat next to his friend.

"Hey Ron. Haven't seen you around lately. How are things going?" Harry asked him.

"Things are going alright. Been keeping busy. Sorry I didn't see you at Christmas." Ron answered.

"I know, George said you were not invited."

"Yeah… well… mom isn't to happy with me right now. Thankfully she let me come to celebrate Evra's birthday." Ron answered awkwardly.

"Why is your mom mad at you? What did you do?" Harry was trying to find out what piece of information he was missing. Ron stared at his hands for a while. Harry didn't know if he was going to answer or not.

"I made a big mistake." Ron finally answered. "I cheated on Hermione." Harry was shocked. This was news to him. His two friends had been divorced for two years now and he had never heard the true reason. He did not know what to say. He sat there staring at Ron.

"I can't believe you Ron. How could you do that to Hermione?" Harry asked his friend he thought he knew.

"Like I said, I made a mistake. Unfortunately Hermione decided she could not get past it, so we split up. Well, I should go." With that Ron stood up and left. Harry could not believe what he had just found out. Before he could think more about it James came and sat down next to him.

"I can take her if you want dad." James offered.

"No, no, she's fine in my arms. I will give her back before I leave." Harry smiled at his son.

"I can't believe how big she has gotten. They grow up fast, don't they?"

"That they do, son. Enjoy these early years while you can. She will be going off to Hogwarts before you know it." Harry advised his son.

"I know dad." James smiled at his father. Harry smiled back. He cherished this precious time with his children, even now when they were grown.


	18. Happy Moments

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

_It was a beautiful July day. Harry and Ginny sat on a blanket in their garden, watching their children play. Teddy was spending the afternoon with the family as well. The two of them watched the children play in the warm summer sun._

_"Teddy is so good with the boys." Ginny commented as she watched the eleven-year-old playing with James and Albus. James who was five could keep up pretty well, but poor Albus was almost three and had a hard time keeping up with the boys. However Teddy knew this and would slow down and help him sometimes._

_"I know. They are going to miss him when he goes off to Hogwarts." Harry said as he watched Teddy pick up Albus and twirl him around. Albus was giggling wildly. After putting Albus down, James tackled Teddy to the ground and started to tickle him. Albus then also climbed on top of Teddy too._

_"Mama" Lily toddled over to Ginny and jumped on her mom. Ginny laughed and held her little girl tightly. Harry smiled as his two special girls laughed together._

_"What's up little girl? Do you want a snack?" Ginny asked. Lily smiled and held out her hands demanding food. Ginny laughed and summoned some grapes and crackers._

_"Boys, come over and take a break" Harry called out. He conjured up some glasses and filled them with water for the kids. The three boys ran over and jumped on the blanket. Albus crawled over to his dad and climbed onto his lap. James immediately started to grab some grapes and stuffed them into his mouth._

_After the family enjoyed their snack, James and Teddy played with the toy Quaffle while Albus and Lily pulled up grass and threw it at each other. Harry loved these days. To some people these were ordinary uneventful days, but to him it was treasured time with his family._

* * *

_It was so hard to watch as Ginny lay in her bed. Harry held her hand to show he was there with her. She was battling a high fever, and she was enduring some terrible pain. It was almost unbearable to Harry._

_"Do you remember the first time you came over to the Burrow?" Ginny asked quietly._

_"Yes, it was the summer before your first year at Hogwarts." Harry responded not sure why she was bringing this up._

_"I was such a silly girl back then," She gave a choking laugh. Harry did have to smile at that. "I mean, I kept dropping things and knocking things over because I was so nervous to be in the same room as you."_

_"I remember one breakfast I asked you a question and you accidentally put your elbow in the butter." Harry chuckled._

_"I did?" Ginny thought about it. "I don't remember. How embarrassing."_

_"Thankfully I was the only one who noticed, or your brothers would have teased you relentlessly."_

_"Yeah well, my brothers did know about that valentine I sent you and that was even more embarrassing." Ginny smiled._

_"Well you were eleven, and we don't often make good decisions when we are eleven. I decided to go protect the sorcerer's stone from a full grown wizard." At that they both started to laugh. Unfortunately the laughing caused Ginny to be in more pain._

_"I'm sorry, should I get the Healer?" Harry asked anxiously._

_"No… No I'm fine. Talking helps to distract me." She said through the pain._

_"Ok… You know that valentine wasn't that bad." Harry said._

_"Oh, come on. You were a bright shade of red when you received it." Ginny replied._

_"Alright, alright. It was embarrassing. But looking back it was kind of sweet." Harry smiled down at her. Ginny smiled back._

_"When did you realize that you liked me?" Ginny asked suddenly. Harry was surprised by the sudden question, but slowly answered._

_"Well you know, it was my sixth year, your fifth." Harry replied._

_"Well, I know it was that year, but when exactly. I mean, for the longest time I was just Ron's awkward little sister. You were interested in Cho and that didn't work out, and then you kissed me after the Quidditch game." Ginny said through her pain. Harry thought about it a bit more._

_"I don't know exactly when I started to have feeling for you. I do remember walking in on you and Dean making out and was surprised to find I was upset about it. I thought I was being protective of you, but later I realized that I was jealous. It took me a while to accept my feeling for you, and even more for me to act upon it." Harry watched as Ginny's eyes smiled._

_"I remembered the look on Ron's face when you kissed me. It was priceless." Ginny laughed._

_"Yeah, I thought he was going to kill me at first." Harry chuckled._

_"Just be thankful none of my other brothers were there to witness it." She leaned over and kissed Harry._

_"I love you Ginny." Harry whispered in her ear._

_"I love you too Harry. I am glad I have had you by me all these years."_

* * *

Harry once again found himself in front of the marble marker. This year was different. He stood with his three children all of whom had a yellow daisy to place where their mother laid. They huddled together to keep warm on this cold windy day.

"I can't believe it has been two years." James said quietly.

"I know. I miss her so much." Lily replied. She had a couple of tears streaming down her face. Harry pulled his daughter closer to his side.

"We all miss her."

"Hey dad," Albus hesitantly started. "Mom would want us to be happy, right?" Albus finished quietly. Harry looked at his son.

"Of course she wants you to be happy. She wants you three to live happy lives and to experience all the things life has to offer." Harry replied.

"Sometimes, I feel guilty that I am living a happy life without her." Albus said quietly. Lily and James looked from Albus to their father. Harry realized that they too shared similar feelings.

"It is hard when you lose someone you love. I once felt guilty for surviving when others did not. However your mother helped me realize that they would want me to keep on living, and live a full life. If you three were to give up on life or to live a miserable life, what would that tell others about your mother?" The three children were thinking about what their father said.

"Thanks dad." Albus said quietly. The family stayed there for a few more silent moments. Then without having to discuss it, the three children placed their yellow daisy on the grave. Harry then conjured up a bouquet of flowers and laid it next to the daisies. They then started to leave the cemetery

They all returned to James's house for dinner. Nicola had it all ready for them when they returned. It was a quiet meal but they enjoyed just being with each other.

"Well, I need to get going. My boss wants to talk with me today still about my next placement." Albus stood up and gave his siblings a hug and went to his dad. "Thanks again dad." He gave his dad a tight hug before Flooing away.

"It sounds like Evra is up. I will go get her." James said when they heard a scream coming from upstairs. Nicola was in the kitchen cleaning up, leaving Lily and Harry alone at the table.

"Dad, I was thinking about what you said today. You told us mom would want us to live a happy life." Lily started.

"She would sweetheart." Harry was getting ready to convince her again.

"I know she would dad. What I was thinking was that she would want YOU to live a happy life as well. She would not want you to be miserable." Lily said, staring her father in the eye.

"Your right." Harry agreed.

"We want to see you happy dad." Harry smiled at his daughter.

"Thank you sweetheart." He pulled her into a tight hug as tears fell from his eyes.


	19. Weddings

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

_Harry watched his best friend pace around his room. In about half an hour Ron and Hermione would be getting married. Ron was very nervous, and Harry chuckled remembering how he felt before his wedding._

_"Ron, sit down. Pacing is not going to help." Harry tried to get his friend to calm down._

_"I am getting married today! MARRIED!" Ron was freaking out._

_"Is that why we are dressed up? I wondered why." Harry joked._

_"That's not funny Harry. I am getting MARRIED!" Ron sat down on the bed and started to hyperventilate._

_"Ok, calm down mate. It will be fine. You love Hermione." Harry seriously tried to calm Ron down. He slowly started to breathe easier. Then there was a knock on the door. Ginny peeked her head in. Harry smiled at his new wife._

_"Mom said it time to get ready." Ginny smiled. She noticed her brother was a little freaked out._

_"Alright, we will be right down." Harry said as Ginny left. "Ok Ron, this is it."_

_Ron's face drained of all color. He started to hyperventilate again. He was a mess._

_"Ron, look at me. LOOK AT ME!" Harry yelled at Ron. "Breathe!"_

_It took a couple of minutes but Harry got Ron calmed down. Finally he was able to lead Ron down to the garden where the wedding would take place. Ron and Hermione had opted for a small garden wedding as opposed to the fancy affair that Harry and Ginny had._

_Ron and Harry took their place up front and waited for the music to start. Ron was still fidgeting nervously, but at least he was breathing normally again._

_The musicians started to play and Ginny walked gracefully down the aisle in her simple periwinkle dress. She smiled and winked at Harry as she approached the front and took her place opposite of him. Then he saw Hermione walk down in her simple fitted satin dress. Harry heard Ron take a sharp breath in. He smiled remembering he had a similar reaction to Ginny walking down the aisle._

_He looked over at his new wife standing next to Hermione. She too was beautiful this day, although she had made sure not to overshadow the bride. He still felt like the luckiest man alive._

* * *

_"Dad?" James asked as he came into his mother's hospital room. Harry looked up and saw his nervous son._

_"What do you need son?" Harry asked._

_"I was wondering… I was wondering if I could talk with you…alone?" He stuttered out. Harry chuckled. And followed his son to the room the Healers had provided them so James could get ready in._

_Once inside the room and the door was closed James started to pace and run his hands through is hair. Harry let out another chuckle. Every man got this way before his wedding._

_"Dad, what am I doing? Am I really getting married today?" James asked._

_"Son, look at me." James stopped and looked at his father. "Do you love Nicola?"_

_"Yes I do," James said without hesitating._

_"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her? Do you want a future with her?" Harry asked, keeping eye contact with his tall son._

_"Yes, I want to spend my life with her." James said slowly. He sat down on the bed in the room._

_"Everyone is nervous before their wedding. I was. But then I remembered how much I loved your mother. I thought about what my life would be like without her." He placed his firm hand on James's shoulder._

_"What if I mess up dad? What if I can't be the husband she deserves?" James's worried eyes looked into his father's._

_"No one perfect, son. But Nicola is not marring you because you are. She loves you, despite your imperfections."_

_"Thanks dad." James stood up and once again ran his hand through his messy hair._

_"No problem son. Alright, are you ready to get married?" James nodded. Father and son returned to Ginny's room._

_"Is everything alright?" Ginny asked._

_"Everything is just fine." Harry smiled at her and gave her a peck on the cheek._

_Just then Nicola walked into the room with her parents and the wizard who was going to marry them. She wore an elegant lace dress. It was simple but beautiful. Harry knew it was not her dream dress, but with moving the wedding up, and having a small ceremony in the hospital they had made some compromises._

_Harry smiled as his son's face broke into a smile. There was no doubt that they loved each other. James walked over to his bride and gently grabbed her hands. Harry looked back down at his wife in her bed. She had tears streaming down her face, and yet she wore a large smile._

* * *

"Uncle Harry, welcome. Let me show you to your seat." Hugo said as he led Harry.

"Thank you Hugo. How are things going?" He asked his nephew.

"Well Rose had a meltdown earlier today about her hair, mom and dad had a fight over the seating arrangement, the best man lost the rings for a while, and grandma is still not talking to dad for some reason. Here is your seat. Enjoy the wedding." Harry laughed at his nephew's nonchalant attitude about everything and sat down. If that is how the day started, what fun was awaiting them later?

Neville and Hanna arrived shortly after and sat next to Harry. They chatted a bit as people found their seats.

"It's hard to believe that Rose is getting married. I remember when she was just a little girl running around the Burrow." Neville said.

"Yeah. It is a little surreal. I felt the same way watching James get married." Harry replied.

Soon everyone was seated and the music began to play. Rose's groom, Travis stood up front with his best man and groomsmen. Like most men on their wedding day, he looked nervous. Then the bridemaids began walking down the aisle. Roxanne, Lucy and Lily all three walked down the aisle in red knee length dresses. All three of them held a bouquet of red, yellow, and orange flowers.

Rose's best friend from Hogwarts was her maid of honor and walked down in a similar dress at the other girls, but had a more elaborate bouquet. Then the bride arrived. As is customary, everyone stood up and watched as she glided down the aisle. Her hair was pinned up and held up with a shoulder length veil. Her dress was a beautiful mermaid cut dress, elegantly beaded. The groom wore a silly grin on his face, causing Harry to chuckle a bit.

The ceremony went without a hitch. Harry was glad for this, since they had a rough morning already. After the ceremony everyone moved to an area filled with tables covered in flowers of the same red, yellow and orange flowers that the women in the wedding carried.

Harry greeted his many family members. Nieces and nephews filled him in on their lives. It was great seeing everyone in such a celebratory event.

It was not until after dinner and after a bit of dancing that Harry finally was able to sit down and talk with Hermione. She looked beautiful in her sunny yellow dress. He had seen her running around all day and finally caught her sitting down.

"Finally taking a break?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

"It has been so crazy Harry." She smiled at him.

"Hugo filled me in on the things that happened before the wedding ceremony." Harry chuckled.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg. I feel like nothing has gone right today. Thankfully Rose is happy." She sighed.

"I guess I got it easy with James' wedding." He gave her a cheeky grin, which she returned with a shove in the arm.

"Just wait until Lily gets married." They both laughed.

"So how are you doing with Ron? I heard there was at least one disagreement." Harry asked.

"Yes, we had a dispute over the seating arrangement, but other then that, we have been alright. He has his jobs, and I have mine."

"I found out about what happened between you two." He said quietly. He had not really talked with Hermione since he found out.

"Did he finally tell you?" She looked down at her shoes, not meeting his eyes.

"Sort of. George let it slip over Christmas that there was more to your divorce then most people knew. Then I confronted Ron at Evra's birthday party. He then admitted to the affair."

"Oh. Well now you know." She was oddly quiet.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"I was embarrassed. I mean Ron cheated on me. I obviously was not good enough for him." She started to tear up.

"Hey now!" Harry said as he grabbed her hands. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. He was the one that made a mistake."

"But there was a reason he strayed. I must not have been a good enough wife for him." She started to cry earnestly now.

Harry pulled her up and led her outside. There was a beautiful garden outside, and he found a secluded bench. When they sat down he pulled her into a hug and he let her cry on his shoulder. She cried for several minutes, and it broke his heart. She truly felt like she was the cause of Ron cheating on her.

"Hermione, you can't blame yourself for Ron's actions." He said when she was able to compose herself again. He gently wiped away a couple of tears. "Ron was stupid."

"Maybe if I hadn't spent so much time at work…" She started.

"No. It is not your fault!" He interrupted her.

"Or if I didn't nag him…"

"It's not your _fault_!" He repeated again.

"Or maybe…"

"Hermione Look at me!" Harry said sternly. Her tear filled eyes met his. "Listen to me. It is not your fault. And if I have to I will tell you this every day until you finally believe me. It's not your fault. Ron is an idiot."

"No he's not" She tried to defend her ex-husband.

"Yes he is." Harry said looking her straight in the eye. "Anyone who would throw away a marriage with a wonderful women is an idiot."

"Thank you." She said quietly. He engulfed her in another hug. He knew that she didn't believe him yet, but he would keep to his promise. He would convincer her someday.


	20. Engagement

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

I hoped you enjoyed the story.

* * *

_Ginny walked down the stairs to find her boyfriend waiting for her. Harry smiled brightly when he saw her. The birthday girl had on a simple green sundress. Normally Ginny didn't wear dresses, but she figured that today she would. Her hair was pulled up simple into a ponytail but it fit Ginny perfectly. She wore simple emerald earrings and a single emerald teardrop necklace, both of which had been gifts from her boyfriend._

_"Are you ready?" Harry asked after he got his voice back. Ginny giggled when his voiced cracked a bit._

_"Let me just say goodbye to mom and then I will be ready." Ginny gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips and skipped into the kitchen. Molly was getting things ready for the party tonight._

_"Don't forget you two, be back by four." Molly said as she hugged her nineteen-year-old daughter._

_"Don't worry Molly, we won't be late." Harry gave Molly a kiss on the cheek. Then Ginny started to drag him out the door. The two of them laughed as they walked down the lane a ways to where they would apparate._

_"So are you going to tell me where we are going yet?" Ginny asked her boyfriend._

_"If you wait a couple of minutes, you will see." He teased her. He grabbed her around the waist and apparated them away._

_The young couple found themselves at a private beach. Not far from where they were laid a blanket with a picnic basket. Ginny hugged Harry tightly and gave him a deep kiss. He then led her over to their picnic meal._

_They had a pleasant afternoon with each other. With both of them working, they didn't often had time alone. As four o'clock approached Harry and Ginny were walking barefoot near the shoreline._

_"We better get going soon, or mom will be upset." Ginny said with a sigh. She really didn't want to leave, but knew it was inevitable. Harry abruptly stopped. Ginny turned to face him._

_"Ginny, I love you." He said, looking her in the eye. He suddenly seemed nervous._

_"I love you too Harry." She smiled at him._

_"I can't imagine my life without you. You are my sunshine, my angel, my everything. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." With that Harry went down on one knee and pulled out a ring box. Ginny was speechless._

_"Ginny, will you marry me?" He asked, opening the box to reveal a beautiful diamond and emerald ring. Ginny started to cry._

_"Yes, of course!" As soon as the words left her mouth Harry was up on his feet and kissing his fiancé. He placed the ring on her finger and they once again shared a passionate kiss. After a bit Harry pulled back._

_"We better be getting back. Your family is waiting to congratulate us." He said with a large smile plastered on his face._

_"You mean my mom was in on this?" Ginny asked._

_"Yeah. I asked your parents last week and your mom decided to make your birthday party into an engagement party."_

_"Well, we can't keep them waiting, can we?" She replied as she gave him another kiss. The happy couple then apparated back to celebrate with friends and family._

* * *

_Harry knew they were coming to the end of the battle. Ginny lay on the bed struggling to breathe. She was just a shadow of the woman she used to be. A week ago Healer Conroy had told Harry that there was nothing else they could do. All that was left was to try and make her comfortable._

_Since that time, Harry had not left Ginny's side. Lily came by everyday after her training. James and Nicola came and visited nearly every day as well. Albus was due to arrive any day, hopefully before she passed away._

_"Harry?" Ginny wheezed. If Harry hadn't been right at her side, he might not have heard her._

_"I'm right here." Harry said, lightly squeezing her hand to reassure her._

_"Is Albus… here yet?" She asked, struggling to get the words out._

_"Not yet." Harry noticed a tear glide down her cheek. "But he should be here soon."_

_She nodded, cringing as the pain ran through her body. It hurt Harry to watch his wife in so much pain._

_"Harry?" Ginny whispered again._

_"What do you need?" Harry let her know he was right there for her._

_"You promise… to take care… of the kids… right?" She managed to say between labored breaths._

_"I promise. I will be there for them and make sure they are taken care of." He smiled. Leave it to Ginny to think of others before herself._

_"And… you promise… not to … give up… on life?" She continued._

_"Yes, love. I promise I will not give up on life. I will continue to live a full life, the way you would want me to." He stared down at his wife. Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with tears. She stared up at him._

_"One… more… promise…" She wheezed_

_"You should really save your breath dear." He said gently. She shook her head._

_"One… more… Harry…"_

_"Alright," He sadly smiled._

_"Promise me… that if… you find… the chance… to love… again… you take it…"_

_Harry stared at her. What was she trying to say? Did she want him to just forget about her and find someone else to love? Was he suppose to just cast her aside once she was gone and take another wife?_

_"I can't do that Ginny. You are my love." He said firmly._

_"Someday… you may find… someone to … love… please don't… be afraid… to love…" Ginny started to cry. What was he suppose to say to that?_

_"Ginny, I love you. I can't imagine loving anyone else like I love you."_

_"Promise me… you won't… be afraid… to love" Ginny was desperately pleading with him._

_"Alright. I promise I will not be afraid to love." Harry tried to calm her down. She gave him a pained smile and slowly closed her eyes again._

_"Thank you," She breathed out. Harry squeezed her hand again, reassuring her. "I love you."_

_Ginny fell asleep again. Harry sat next to her bed until she left him._

* * *

Harry walked into the Three Broomsticks. He had a feeling he knew what this meeting was about, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He looked around and spotted the young man he was looking for in the back corner.

"Thank you for meeting with me Mr. Potter." The young man stood up nervously and stuck out his hand. Harry shook his hand and the two men sat down.

"Dalton, I have told you before, just call me Harry." Harry responded. Dalton nodded.

"Alright sir." Dalton responded. He was nervously wringing his hands. Harry observed this and definably knew why the young man had asked him here today.

"So Dalton, tell me why you asked me here today?" Harry leaned back in his chair watching the young man that had captured his daughter's heart.

"Well sir, you see… I have been dating your daughter for a while now… and well… I wanted your permission to ask her to marry me." Dalton stuttered out. Despite his nerves, he looked Harry straight in the eye.

"You don't need my permission to ask my daughter a question. She is an adult who makes her own decisions." Harry answered. He stared at the young man for a couple of quiet second before slowly continuing on, "However, I will give you my blessing."

Dalton stared at Harry for a bit. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. Harry gave him a gentle smile.

"You have been dating my daughter for about a year now. You are a good man, and you have treated her right. Lily knows what she wants, and the fact that she has stuck with you for so long tells me she sees a future with you. I would be happy to see my daughter with you."

"Thank you sir." Dalton finally found his voice.

"You should know though, if you hurt her, not only will you have to answer to me, but her two brother, five uncles and numerous cousins who love her dearly." Harry added with a mischievous smile.

"I do not intend to hurt her sir. I love her dearly too." Dalton bravely stated.

"When do you plan on asking her?" Harry asked.

"Next Saturday. I have a special date set up." Dalton explained.

"Good. When James told me he was going to propose to Nicola, he never told me when he was going to do it, so I had to wait for a little over three weeks, not knowing when it was going to happen." Harry chuckled.

"Well, I need to get back to the hospital." Dalton said as he stood. Harry stood up with him.

"I should be getting back up to the school." The two men shook hands again and parted ways.

Harry turned to walk up to the castle when he heard his name.

"Harry!" Hermione called after him. "What are you doing here?"

"Professors are aloud to leave the castle you know." Harry jokingly retorted.

"I know that, but you usually don't go to The Three Broomsticks when you leave the castle, usually you go to visit someone's house and you take the Floo from your office." Hermione said as they walked side by side toward the castle gate.

"Are you stalking me?" Harry joked some more with his close friend. She gave him a little shove. "What are YOU doing here?"

"I came by to see an old friend." She replied.

"I don't need you to come checking up on me you know. I can take care of myself." Harry laughed.

"Who said I was coming to see you. I have other friends at the castle. Maybe I came to see Neville or Hannah." She smiled at him.

"Ok, well the password for Neville's office is 'mandragora'. Come see me before you leave." Harry said as they reached the front doors.

"Harry! Seriously I did come to see you."

"Well, next time be more clear about that." He gave her an innocent smile. They walked up to his living quarters.

"So you never answered my question from earlier. What were you doing in Hogsmeade?" Hermione persisted. Harry sighed and ran his hand through his salt and pepper messy hair.

"Dalton asked for my permission to propose to Lily." Harry told her.

"Wow. What did you say?"

"I told him he did not need my permission, but I would give him my blessing. He's a good man, and I know Lily loves him." Harry replied.

"How do you feel about your little girl getting married?" Hermione asked. They sat together on Harry's couch as Harry summoned his teapot and a couple of mugs.

"It's a little surreal. I know she is grown and living on her own, but I still don't feel like she is old enough to marry." Harry honestly said as he ran his hands through his hair.

"My Rosie has been married for a year. She's only a couple years older than Lily. You and Ginny were younger then she is now." Hermione threw at him.

"I know, I know. But as you said, she is my little girl." He exhaled. "It's hard to let her go."

"How about we change the subject. How is the end of the term coming along?" Hermione tried to cheer him up.

"Good I guess. The students are ready for Christmas. I have taken so many points away this week. Just one more week and I will be free." He replied. Hermione chuckled.

"What are you plans for Christmas?" She asked as she drank her tea. Harry knew exactly how she liked it.

"I volunteered to be here on Christmas day this year. I am having Christmas with the kids on the 22nd at James and Nicola's. No doubt it will also be an engagement celebration." He smiled. "How about you?"

"We are all going to Rosie's new place this year for Christmas. Hugo is bringing his new girlfriend I guess. Rose really wants Ron and I both there for some reason."

"Maybe you're going to be a grandma." He teased.

"I have been thinking the same thing. It makes sense as to why she would insist that Ron and I both be there." She smiled. "How about I come over the next day and tell you all about it. Or I can come when they all go over to the Burrow."

"You know I always love your company." Harry replied. He looked into the brown eyes across from him. They were not the eyes that he had fallen in love with many years ago, but they were always ones he had looked forward to seeing. Now as he looked at them, he realized that he was falling in love with the woman in front of him.

A pang of guilt ran through him as he remembered Ginny. He had thought that he would never find another woman to love. He thought that Ginny was his one and only.

Then he remembered the promise. She had told him not to be afraid to love. Ginny knew that finding someone else to love would not mean he loved her less.

Hermione had always been a constant in his life. Since the day they had defeated the troll together, she had been a significant part of his life. He could not imagine his life without her.


End file.
